Prologue
by DarnedNoob
Summary: Revenge, a strange term. It causes one to go to great extents, just for revenge itself. It can also cause one's downfall. The story behind Bera's most dangerous Shadower, and his quest for revenge. Note: Rated T to be safe. Please review, I'm learning.
1. Prologue of a Prologue

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: **This chapter, or the prologue can actually be skipped. It won't affect the story much, and it contains some spoilers. You can return after reading up to Duel. So, yeah, you can actually start reading from Newfound.

* * *

Colonel Rain stepped out onto the forest behind HQ07, footsteps making no sound as the Bow Master stopped walking, abruptly. It was midnight, and it was deathly silent. He could come anytime.

He came.

He came, almost without a sound, too. Of course, 'almost' never won any prizes, as Rain proved, by suddenly turning back…

Kane suddenly _appeared_ in front of the Colonel, holding a half-moon dagger to his neck. Its blade shone a golden colour, with white on the razor-sharp edges.

Rain's eyes went wide with surprise.

_The captain has the _Shadowlight _in his possession…_

Aloud, Rain said, "What brings you here, _captain_?"

Kane frowned, something he had been doing lately, since the truth behind his father's death had come out. "Don't you have something to confess?"

"Well, yes." Came the Colonel's reply. "I'd like to confess. I'd like to confess that you've been tricked."

Suddenly, _Shadowsight_ bandits, covered by _Frozenarrow _snipers left their cover behind the trees, the bandits with their standardized _Cross_ daggers and the snipers cocking their individually modified crossbows, all aimed at the ex-captain of a Kane.

The Colonel of _Eagleeye _grinned. "Any last words, traitor?"

Kane smiled back a half-smile. "None needed yet, anyway." He then snapped his finger before whispering, "Meso Explosion."

The trees behind him exploded, mesos having been thrown onto the trees before the cunning ex-captain of _Shadowsight_ had arrived. Not a single _BeraCross_ member in the vicinity survived.

Well, except two bandits, slightly burnt, and a lone sniper, with his crossbow still cocked.

"Blizzard."

A fury of arrows, all frozen to the tip, flew towards Kane, who dodged three arrows, and deflected the last one, before screaming, "Lucky Seven!"

Time stood still for Rain.

_Did he just use a claw rogue technique…?_

"Avenger!" three giant _Kumbis _erupted from Kane, a standard-issue _GoldenMeba_ covering his left hand. One beheaded the sniper while the other two lashed at a bandit, leaving the lone bandit, his _Cross_ dagger shaking in his hands.

_Omigosh, a Hermit technique…_

"S…s…Savage Blow!" reluctantly, the bandit dashed towards Kane and struck with his trusty dagger, ancient symbols forming in front of him as he stabbed, six times in the time it took one to stab once.

Not a single hit Kane.

He evaded all the blows, and with a "Lucky Seven!" shot the chin of the bandit with his claw, _Shadowlight _still at the Colonel's throat.

"I'd have to say you trained your little_ imbeciles _well." Kane smirked.

"Why did you turn against us, son?" Rain said, almost a pleading tone in his voice.

"You took my father away from me. You destroyed my family. And, what, you expect me to serve you?!" The Chief Bandit cried out.

"Listen, child. Darren was a criminal. Outlaw. Murderer. He took innocent lives, just as you did just now." Rain said, his voice even, looking Kane straight in the eyes. Suddenly, he changed the topic, with utmost ease, even with a dagger at his throat. "Kane, do you remember when you were just a little younger than this? When you were just a mere 14. You had great potential as a Bandit. I had you trained by the best of Rouges, and even by the Dark Lord himself. I even adopted you as my son."

"Ah, yes, those times. But they're over now." Kane allowed himself a smile. "You have to pay for what you did so many years ago."

The _Shadowlight_ moved back, to strike at its next victim's throat…

…Revenge is a funny thing. Violence begets violence, and yet people take another's eye for their own, and the world goes blind.

Now back to Kane. What happened to the poor soul, that he turns upon his former mentor? The story that comes next is about the life of young Kane, of his struggles, of his being accepted into someplace he could call a family, and yet would betray in time to come, the _BeraCross_.

The prologue. The prologue of the life of one who would affect the history of Bera, just as the sun gives life, he would bring death.

Beware; the greatest of avengers is coming.

And this is his prologue.

* * *


	2. Newfound

Author's Note: This chapter might be albeit boring, due to the numerous explanations of how things work in this chapter, and also the lack of good fighting scenes (dedicated to Dave, a classmate of mine.). But then, you won't expect a Lv10 n00b to start blasting Balrogs with a finger, do you? Another thing: The guilds are fictional.  
Anyway, enjoy, if possible.

* * *

The boy walked through the streets of Kerning, sword held as firmly as a 12-year-old could, pushing through the crowds of people looking for teammates to combat the Slime King for its prizes. He walked up the stairs that met him and stopped at a door, half-open.

The Fusion Bar.

Entering, the boy looked around the place. It was eerily empty, void of life. Well, except for an ant, crawling around the cracked flooring.

Putting his fears behind him, the boy gripped his sword and strode towards, of all places, the washroom. Male restroom.

There, he opened a trapdoor, to find a ladder. "Just as Daddy said." The small boy whispered, his black eyes wide open.

He went down.

And he got the shock of his life.

"ARGH!! A bat! A giant bat!" he screamed.

In front of him, the 'bat' answered. "Who's that?"

The boy opened his eyes to find, not a bat, but a person in a black suit _hanging upside down _from the ceiling of the basement, an old boxing ring in front of him.

The Dark Lord.

There had been rumors about this mysterious person. Apparently a past Hermit, the Dark Lord's name was never recorded. He was one of the few who had the ability to transfer the powers of the Rogue to another, preferably without a job, and was the only one who used it for the general good.

That is, to give those, who were powerful enough, the stealth and speed of a Rouge, and in time to come, a Bandit or Assassin.

The boy answered timidly. "M…my name is…is... Kane, sir."

"Kane, eh?" The Dark Lord dropped, right side up, onto the boxing ring, in front of Kane.

"Y…yes…sir. I wish to become a Rogue." His speech forgotten, the boy with the name of Kane looked down at his feet. "Please." He added.

The Dark Lord looked at him. _Sure, he was nervous, but he had the makings of a Rogue_. _And he's at an experience level of 10, too._

A method of measuring one's overall strength, an experience level is gained once you are recognized as significantly stronger, physically for Warriors, mentally for Magicians, and a combination of both for Archers and Rogues. A level of 10 meant that one was ready to be a Warrior, Archer, or Rogue. Magicians were faster, at an experience level of 8.

"Give me your hand." The famed ex-Hermit said, with a bored expression. Clearly, he had been through this many times.

Wondering at this strange request, Kane held out his hand. The Dark Lord grabbed it, and, chanting in a language Kane could not understand, winced.

Suddenly, the room was filled with a bright light, and Kane felt _something_ go into him. He tumbled away from the ex-Hermit, and, surprisingly, managed to balance himself, before finally tumbling anyway.

"There." The Dark Lord said. "That's quite some of my power. I'm going to have to train loads if this continues…"

"Th…thanks, sir." Kane stammered, just as he tripped himself at the ladder. He managed to hold on to a rung and flipped himself back up. "Whoa, how did I just…"

"Oh yes, how forgetful of me." The Dark Lord said. "Here's your spellbook. Surprise. Even Rogues need mana-consuming techniques." He handed Kane a light, black book of only a few pages. "Even though your dexterity more than makes up for it. By Lith, that's the first time I've seen a boy doing stunts immediately after advancement…"

"Th…thank you, sir." Kane managed to say, not in a whisper this time round.

"No problem. Glad to see you finally found your tongue." The ex-Hermit smiled.

Kane smiled back, nervously, and climbed the ladder, back to the surface world.

The Dark Lord smiled. _He'll grow up to be a fine Rogue one day._ He thought to himself.

* * *

A cab Kane had hailed was now taking him to Henesys. The town of Bowmen was Kane's homeland, and he was most familiar with its grassy plains, the boars, and various- coloured snails crawling around.

Back home, Kane greeted his father, a warm "Hi, dad!"

Darren Anderson smiled, and hugged his son. "How was the Dark Lord?"

"Everything went fine!" Kane beamed. "He even gave me a book on Rogue techniques! I plan to read through everything by today!"

"That's good, my boy." Darren smiled. "Your mum would have liked this." He whispered, almost to himself, a regretful half-smile on his face.

Kane fell silent. Jenny Anderson was a renowned Bandit, adventurous and daring, a beautiful woman. She had met Darren during one of her travels to Henesys. Despite their clashing personalities, they loved each other, just as opposites attract. It was a pity she had to die giving birth to Kane.

Darren Anderson, a Hermit, was an excellent alchemist in his time, one who used mana to create new techniques based on the classical elements of fire, water/ice, earth/poison, lighting, wind, light, and darkness, for battle and for enhancing potions. Of course, the element of darkness has been forbidden, except for within the confines of the Dragon Knight's skillbook, as, powerful as it was, it had a few side effects. Insanity was one of them, which could be avoided by Dragon Knights due to their stamina and endurance.

* * *

Back to Kane. After a heavy dinner, featuring Kane's favourite escargot, the Rogue was memorizing lines out of his skillbook, hiding in his room, working hard to make sense of the technique. It wasn't working.

"How's the book, son?" Darren walked into his room, observing the skillbook.

"It's not going good…" Kane murmured.

Darren took a look at the technique. "I understand you want to be a Bandit, like your mum, do you, son?"

Kane whirled around to face his father. "Um…yes…"

"Well, Keen Eye is actually for usage of the claw. In any case, the problem lies in this: certain techniques, like your Keen Eye, require the knowledge of another technique."

"What does Keen Eye need, then?"

Darren smiled. "Find out for yourself, son."

* * *

The next day, Kane was out on the fields of Henesys, training his combat skills as a Rogue against snails, Stumps, the like. A four-legged Stump was lumbering towards him, ready to strike. The one-eyed mutant tree stump jumped at the son of Darren, certain of its accuracy, looking forward to the kill.

But Kane was faster.

With a swift movement of his right hand, holding the makeshift dagger of a fruit knife, Kane stabbed forward, and a millisecond later, the blade was embedded in the Stump's bark. Kane extracted the blade, with a call of, "Any more?"

The call was answered immediately.

Three Stumps, flanked by a Red Snail and a Blue Snail, ran, fast as they could, towards Kane. It was apparent they had no sense of strategy.

_Ah well. Perfect time to test my technique. _Kane thought to himself. The Rogue sidestepped as the horde ran through where he had once been, before turning back and slashing out, shouting, "Double Stab!"

The effect was immediate. Red lines appeared where the dagger had once been, before the same dagger was found stabbing _below _the previous wound. But then, the attack was not without a price, for Kane felt a sort of exhaustion after striking. He knew, from reading the black skillbook yesterday, that it was the effects of using mana to increase one's speed for a short duration of time to create faster strikes. After awhile of using the technique, one will be extremely exhausted and not be able to use mana-consuming techniques, simply because there isn't any mana left. Of course, mana replenishes over time, and mana can be _drunk_ in liquid form, what people call a mana potion.

The other mutated fauna and flora were disposed of in a similar fashion, and soon Kane grew weary of this endless slaughter. Hoarding up the shells and twigs on the floor, what was left of the massacre, Kane walked towards the Henesys market. He had heard that the shopkeepers were willing to pay for raw materials from the creatures…

* * *

Through all this combat training, Kane had met a friend, a crossbow-wielding Archer by the name of David. He was an easy-going teenager, which was probably why he wanted to be a Sniper, staying in a spot and just aiming, with his sharp eye.

He was older than Kane by two years. They seemed to be of similar intelligence and physical ability, even though David was a year ahead of his other schoolmates at the Henesys Academy of Archery.

Everyone in the neighborhood of Henesys agreed that Kane and David were the best team, together, that they had ever seen. Kane attracted the monsters to him, dodging them with his agility, while David sniped away at them. At the age of 14, David had yet to miss, not once.

As Kane and David trained themselves, one could see that they were improving. Kane was at an experience level of 15, in a few days, and David, 20, from the 18 when he had met Kane.

Kane and David were, probably, what you could call the best of friends. They had vowed never to leave each other, to be each other's friend forever. Countless have made the same vow, but few can keep that vow. Little did they know that they were one of the few.

* * *

Through his countless visits to the Elinian Library, Kane had discovered much about the endless list of guilds. Nowadays, guilds were more competitive, whether in terms of war, where the guild of _Abyss_ were the top, with the best of the four Jobs, or propaganda, where the _MapleSociety_ were excellent at recruiting members, although not always good, or even average, members, in terms of both strength and wisdom.

Another two guilds Kane was most interested in reading up was the _BeraCross_ and _Necrons_. BeraCross was a guild where they recruited people to fight against lawbreakers, with or without the consent of the Four Wise Men, people who govern the land of Bera. What counts under 'lawbreakers' for _BeraCross_ are necromancers (people who use the element of darkness.), and those who murder civilians. _Necrons_ is the only guild they are against that do not 'break laws', yet there is an endless war between the two of them.

Kane has always wanted to join _BeraCross_, being a strong upholder of justice. David, of course, had agreed to follow him, so close was their bond.

* * *

_Two years later_

The two people walked down the streets of Henesys Town. They glanced at the door number of each mushroom house, moving ever forward, seemingly looking for a prey.

They stopped at a house, identical to the others.

Except for the door number.

73.

The cloaked strangers, instead of knocking on the door, just _rammed _through the custom-made adamatium door.

Darren Anderson looked up from the thick book of Ice techniques he was reading from, papers made from doing an Earth transmutation on the air around him scribbled with notes.

"What the…"

The strangers rushed forward at an unnatural speed, one choking Darren with a gloved hand, while the other chanted, "Neptune's Wrath!"

A sudden wave of water crashed unto Darren, freezing as it went over him.

"Fire Transmutation!"

Darren fought back, causing air particles trapped at his hand, a millisecond before they were frozen, to be set alight, melting the ice. He then said, simply, "Wind Transmutation."

A sudden gale came in from out of the now-open windows, causing the strangers to have to fight against being blown away. Darren did not waste a moment. He slipped on his claw and aimed it at the one who had formerly strangled him.

"Drain!"

A Steely, glowing a dark purple, hit that stranger right between the eyes.

It had no effect.

"What the…?"

That same stranger replied with, "Rectify."

The Steely popped out, and the wound on the bridge of his nose healed, immediately, save for a purple glow.

_That's…that's a Darkness technique…_

That stranger continued.

"Vulcan's Wrath."

Lava flowed unto Darren's house, but could not get through the Mitril-reinforced walls, hardening outside the house.

But he wasn't done.

"Alright. Time for the basics. Explosion."

The area around that person suddenly heated up, before the air itself exploded, burning the surprised Darren, while the other stranger was protected by a layer of ice.

Darren was still conscious. "I…what power…"

"We have been sent to kill you. Of course, it was harder than I thought. Finally a worthy opponent. But nevertheless. Duty calls. See you in Hell."

The stranger who had control over Ice raised a wand…


	3. Beracross

_Author's Note: First of all, 05/10/08 is my classmate's birthday. Happy birthday. There.  
Next, thanks for the massive amount of reviews. XD  
And I just found a fellow Singaporean...Yay!!  
Oh ya, I forgot.  
Enjoy._

Kane and David were killing Undead Mushrooms around the entrance of Sleepywood's Ant Tunnel. The area they were in was void of human life, except for the two of them, for two reasons; firstly, it was quite close to midnight, and second, they were claiming all the kills in the entrance, so fast were their stabs and shots.

Kane, wielding his Reef Claw in his right hand, and a Seclusion Wristguard in his left, was striking at the zombie fungi with unnatural speed, doing a Double Stab one side, blocking another incoming Mushroom with his wristguard, and repaying the blow with a stab, right between the poor fungus' eyes, rendering the undead seal on its forehead torn.

David was no different. A shot to his left with his Eagle Crow struck an Undead Mushroom in the eye, killing it and salvaging the seal, before turning to deliver a Double Shot, which, amusingly, struck _both_ eyes of an unfortunate Mushroom. The now-crossbowman walked to the seals, picking it up before hearing a, "Watch out!"

David whirled around to stare, in the face, a brown Mushroom…

…Before it fell to a side, dead, revealing Kane, with his dagger hanging at his side, smirking. "Be more alert. Please, you're a future Sniper."

"Don't remind me." David muttered. He turned back, to face Kane, to find a Mushroom lumbering towards Kane, just behind him, ready to pounce…

David raised his crossbow and shot, a single arrow, striking the Undead in the left eye.

Kane turned back to see what David had just shot. The Bandit, now at an experience level of 35, raised an eyebrow. "You do have a liking to eyeballs, do you?"

"Quit that, sharp-mouthed Rogue." The Crossbowman, of an experience level of 37, snapped back. "And, no, I don't like them. Why would I shoot them if I did, anyway."

"Nice one, David." Kane smiled. "Your tongue has finally untangled itself."

"Shut up. Back to training,"

* * *

"We have been sent to kill you. Of course, it was harder than I thought. Finally a worthy opponent. But nevertheless. Duty calls. See you in Hell."

The stranger who had control over Ice raised a wand…

…But Darren was nowhere to be seen.

"What the…?" The Ice necromancer, for that was what the stranger cloaked in black was, exclaimed.

"Were you looking for me?" The necromancer turned behind him, without seeing anyone, except for his fellow Fire necromancer.

"Don't worry. This will bring him out." The Dark Mage of Fire pulled out a skillbook, skimming through the pages. "Ahah." Chanting in an unknown language, he suddenly shouted, after the rambling, "Burning Hell!"

There was an explosion, followed by darkness, before fire burned down the house, Mitril and all. The interesting thing about the fire was that it had a purplish glow around it, and that the two necromancers were unaffected by it…

…Darren popped out from the ashes, wounds healed, running swiftly.

The Ice necromancer finally noticed something on Darren's arm.

A tattoo.

An _N_, crossed out horizontally.

The mark of an ex-Necron member.

Every Necron member, upon entering the guild, has a tattoo done on their left shoulder. An _N_, glowing green. Once a Necroite quits the guild, the tattoo is crossed out, and the glowing is stopped, either personally by the master, for the junior masters, or by the junior masters, for everyone else.

However, there was something special.

The mark was glowing green now.

Darren sped around the two necromancers, almost invisible to the naked eye. He suddenly shouted, "Fire Transmutation!" before dashing in to give the Dark Mages a flaming punch…

…The Ice necromancer stepped in, muttering, "Neptune's Wrath."

A wall of water crashed in to freeze in front of Darren, blocking his punch.

The Fire necromancer continued. "Vulcan's Wrath."

Without the mushroom house to protect him, Darren was almost run over by molten rocks.

Almost.

The alchemist shouted, eyes flaming with determination, "Darkness Transmutation!"

The Ice necromancer gasped. _A fellow necromancer…_

The alchemist's technique caused the surroundings to fall into darkness, so strong that it not only obscured sight, but also all other four senses, for all three of them.

Except for Darren.

He quickly shouted, "Light Transmutation!", and a sudden wave of light hit all three of them.

To Darren's disadvantage.

Taking advantage of the light, the Fire necromancer, fighting against the technique's power against Darkness, aimed his Magicodar at the Hermit-turned-alchemist.

"Meteo…"

* * *

Soon, David and Kane were done with their hunting, were walking back to Sleepywood to sell off their small collection of undead charms, ripped of the zombie Mushrooms.

"Why don't we keep the Charms? We'll show Amy how tough her man is…" Kane started a conversation, with a teasing. Amy Socrates was David's long-time classmate of the School of Archery, also 16, and almost as intelligent as David himself, also forward a year, as her last name implied. She was a Hunter of an experience level of 35, and David's crush. Not that many people knew, anyway. Except for Kane.

"Oh, just shut up. She'll probably be able to complete the same feat anyway." David went sullen.

"God. After two years, David, you still don't know when I'm joking." Kane sighed, shaking his head.

"God. After two years, Kane, you still don't know when I'm adding to your joke." David sighed, but could not suppress his smile.

"Training your tongue for when you'll propose to her, aren't you?" Kane smiled back.

"Kane Anderson, just shut up." David retorted.

"Stop using the same phrase over and over again. People get tired of it, you know."

"That's exactly the point. I'm wearing you out. Now…"

Kane interrupted. "There. Sleepywood sauna."

* * *

"By Zakum, I tire of this chase." The Fire necromancer said, tone even, no sign of emotion except for his words.

"Well, you shouldn't have exhausted your mana so fast, retard." His Ice counterpart retorted sharply.

"Gods of Fire, stop that before I ram this very staff up your…"

"Quit this!" Another figure, cloaked in black too, _materialized _from the space beside the house, or what remained of it.

"Well, I was about to blast the hole of a Darren when he _disappeared_..." The Dark Mage, lighting a fire and extinguishing it to prove his point, said.

"Master has ordered us, strictly, to capture the alchemist, and _not _be merciful. What do we do now?" The newly-arrived Dark Mage questioned the other two.

The Ice necromancer smiled. "Let's wash him out of his hiding place. Neptune's Wrath!"

Water flowed in from behind the Dark mage, flooding every crack and groove of the ground. Darren was nowhere to be seen.

"Bloody…I'll do it! Zeus' Wrath!"

Static electricity sparked around the Dark Mage, and lighting struck multiple areas in the vicinity, including the water-flooded areas. Again, there was no Darren.

"By Zakum, I hate this Darren…" The Lighting necromancer ground his teeth.

"And that's a perfect reason for me to strike back."

The three Dark Mages turned around them, finally stopping at a similar angle.

And, lo and behold, Darren was glowing black, a Casters on his right hand.

"Time to end this. Shadow Partner." A silhouette of Darren appeared behind him, mimicking his every move. "Avenger." Three Kumbis, all more than twice the size of the ex-Hermit himself, each of them flew to a different opponent.

None hit.

The Ice necromancer summoned a wall of ice to protect himself.

The Fire necromancer, with a cry of "Vulcan's Wrath!" had the Kumbi encased in solid lava.

The Lighting necromancer, with a Thunder Spear he had summoned, simply deflected the Kumbi.

"Stalemate." The Dark Mage of Ice intoned.

"Damn…" Darren clenched his fist, and ran into the Ice necromancer, with a desperate cry of "_Fire Transmutation!_"

The flaming fist met a wall of ice, which it _shattered_, impacting with the Ice necromancer.

He fell unconscious. The Ice Mage of Darkness, that is.

"_Who wants some more?!" _Darren screamed, before turning to the Fire necromancer.

"_Shadow Partner! Ice Transmutation!"_

The Alchemist slammed a fist, encased in ice, with water flowing around it, into the Fire Mage's face.

Another Dark Mage out cold.

The Lighting necromancer left.

"Now, what to use next…" The ex-Hermit strode over to the last Mage.

"Beware. My master is coming."

The Lighting necromancer did not give Darren time to figure out this sudden sentence, for a cloaked figure, jumping out from the shadows, had him at the neck, with a dagger in hand…

* * *

Selling their goods did not take a whole lot of time, and soon Kane and David were strolling back to Henesys, Kane dodging any monsters that came their way, and David taking potshots at the others. Not that he needed the kills anyway.

Suddenly, Kane lost his footing while dancing around a Green Mushroom and fell into a pretty large hole. David screamed, "Kane!" running towards the gap.

It was then that he found out that the hole was quite shallow. Although the fall did bruise Kane albeit.

It was the Stone Golem lumbering towards the Bandit that caught his attention.

But then, it caught his attention, not because of the fact that his friend could be slaughtered anytime soon.

Kane used his Rogue technique, Dark Sight, and disappeared, reappearing at the other end of the gaping hole a few seconds later.

"Come on!" The now-Bandit shouted across to David.

Apparently shaken out of his daze, the Crossbowman walked across through some stone platforms extending out from a cliff.

"Kane." The past Archer said, face cringing.

"Yes?" Kane answered, raising an eyebrow.

"You remember this place, a year ago?"

"Eh, yes. We almost got killed here. You and your warrior doll."

David looked at the silver ring on his left fourth finger, an emerald encrusted on it. A gift from his late mother.

"It was worth it."

"Whatever. You wanted to give it to your mum, didn't you?"

"I didn't want to. I did."

"Ok, fine. You did. Aunt must have been happy."

"She sure was." David tore his eyes away from his ring. He was back to his emotionless, blank face. "Let's get moving."

"In case you haven't noticed, we _are _moving…"

"Fine. Let's _continue _moving. Shut up." David strode ahead of his friend of two years.

"Be that way." Kane ran after him.

The duo reached Kane's standardized mushroom house in a few minutes. Or what used to be a standardized mushroom house.

The house was gone. Well, not exactly gone. A few pieces of twisted Mitril could be found on the floor.

And worse still, Darren was lying on the floor, in a pool of blood, three figures cloaked in black around him.

"Dad!" Kane ran towards the Alchemist.

The three strangers took to their heels, but David managed to hit one's shoulder. A glowing _N_ was revealed as the cloth was torn.

David gasped. _Necrons…_

Kane was, in a second, next to his father, frantically looking around for anything to save his dad. Anything.

To his south, there was a twisted door, made of Adamantium. No hope from that.

To his east, a charred piece of paper. Charred. Again, no help.

To his west, David looking for the three black figures. He was a hopeless at healing arts. Out.

To his north, of course, was Darren, lying in a pool of his own blood.

The ex-Hermit made to say something, raising his head, but before any sound could come from his throat, his head fell, eyes still open. In shock.

"Dad! No!" Kane screamed in denial.

David, standing by the side, shook his head. A tear fell from his face. He understood how Kane must have felt. His own mother had died in front of him, a year previously, after giving him the Ring of Wind.

Suddenly, a figure in a Blue Arzuna, holding a white Dragon Shinebow, appeared from apparently nowhere.

"By Lith, I lost them." The newcomer groaned. "You two are…?"

"David Falcon, Crossbowman of experience level 38. He is Kane Anderson, Bandit of experience level 36. Pleased to be of your acquaintance."

"Gods, you are a polite boy." The newcomer smiled. "Jason Rain, Bow Master, experience level 140. Nice to meet you."

Kane looked up from his father, his eyes red. "Bow Master? You look quite familiar…"

"Of course. Still remember the time I found you two at the Golem Temple…still wondering what the hell made you go there." Jason smiled. Suddenly, the smile faded. "Oh yes. Terribly sorry about your father, Anderson. I found him lying on the floor when I passed by. I tried to chase down the murderers."

"We do have a clue as to who they are, though." David cut in. Everyone, save the late Darren, looked at him.

"I spotted an _N _on one of the person's shoulder. He might be of _Necrons._"

"_Necrons?_ Our enemy." The Bow Master put in. "Oh yes, I forgot the _full _introduction." He handed both Kane and David a card. "Colonel Rain of _Beracross, _Section _Eagleeye._ This is my invitation card to my guild. Please join. From what I heard and saw, you, Anderson, are quite a capable fighter. The Crossbowman has a quick and accurate trigger finger too. I witnessed it myself."

David was excited, something out of character for him. "_Beracross! The Beracross._ Isn't this your dream guild, Kane?"

Kane took the card, and then looked Colonel Rain straight in the eye. Raw determination could clearly be seen in the Bandit's eyes. "You all are against _Necrons, _from what I hear, yes?"

Colonel Rain smiled. "I might have the liberty to say yes, but the reason will only be revealed through joining our guild."

Kane looked back at the card. _A chance to avenge dad, _he thought to himself.

"I accept your invitation."

* * *

_Author's Note:_ _I'm done with this chapter! There. And, there's another fanfic of mine comeing up soon...don't worry, it's a oneshot. And it's related to this fic.  
Another thing to note: More necromancers coming up! YEAH lolx._


	4. He of Poison

Author's Note: Hi! The author's back, on time! (Collective screams and cheers, stops when a recorder has the 'stop' button pressed. Silence and a slight groan here and there.)

Ok, never mind. So the next chapter's up, and more baddies appear! Yay!! Of course, there are some good guys too…

* * *

She closed an eye, pulling back the bow.

She couldn't miss.

"Soul Arrow. Double Shot."

Two shining arrows, one above the other, and both of them struck the target a thousand and five hundred feet away. A willow wand, thinner than a stick.

"Nice one, Amy. Perhaps you can repeat that for me."

Amy Socrates looked beside her, so focused was she in her archery that she hadn't noticed Andre Socrates, her younger brother of two years, standing beside her, smiling. The Crossbowman of an experience level of forty raised his crossbow, and, with a whisper of "Iron Arrow," shot a crossbow bolt _through_ Amy's arrow, right in the middle, and struck the willow wand.

"Nice shot too, brother." Amy grinned. "That's the first time I've seen a shot like that…"

"I've been practicing. Like you should be. Don't disappoint Father."

"Don't worry, bro, I always train my archery. I'm at an experience level of 35 now."

"Good. Train _more_." Andre turned and left the field, away from the tens of students with a bow in their hands, ever aiming.

Amy looked at her younger brother leaving. In actuality, the Hunter had only met Andre a year previously. According to her parents, he had been sent to an Elinian Magic school, without Amy's knowledge, having an interest in magic, especially the art of healing and usage of the element of Light. He was highly intelligent too, a perfect Cleric. However, somewhere along the way, as a Cleric, the now-Crossbowman tired of casting spell after spell, reading book after book, and longed for some real action. Through unknown methods, Andre managed to become an Archer. Until today, Amy is still trying to find the secrets to switching Jobs. Not much success, though.

Perhaps another factor Amy could consider was that her brother trained almost every minute, every second he had spare time, both mentally and, surprise, physically, despite being a Cleric when he adopted his no-nonsense, just-train kind of attitude. Every second. Perhaps that was why Andre, younger than her, could _surpass_ her in terms of experience level.

Perhaps.

* * *

After finishing up with her training, the Hunter Amy was having dinner with her family. Her little brother finished eating quickly, as was expected, before retiring to his room. To read another skillbook, most likely. Actually, he was _going _to his room. What difference would it matter, you might say. It did.

Because at that precise moment, a black cloaked stranger seemingly _materialized _in front of Andre, a Magicodar in his hands.

One could see a faint blue glow around the cloaked man, disappearing in a second after the stranger appeared.

"Poison Myst."

A green fog suddenly came from seemingly nowhere, covering the entire mushroom-shaped house.

Amy muttered, "This doesn't look too good…"

Her father, Ankou Socrates, a Ranger of experience level hundred and ten, replied with a "Nothing is nowadays," before raising his treasured Dragon Shinebow, one of the remaining four in Bera, from his back.

"Soul Arrow. Strafe."

Four yellowish shining arrows shot out towards the stranger.

None hit.

A first arrow was slowed enough to drop with a single Magic Bolt from the stranger.

The second and third were ripped to glowing shreds with a cry of "Magic Claw!" from the same cloaked stranger.

The fourth was simply blocked with an Esther Shield on the man's left hand.

"Do better next time."

Apparently getting too proud of himself, the stranger forgot about little Andre with his crossbow in his left hand, and a skillbook in his right.

The bespectacled teenager enunciated, in a deep voice belying his age, "Laser."

A beam of white light erupted from the crossbow, striking the Poison necromancer, and _passing through him, _burning a hole in the wall behind the unfortunate Dark Mage.

Or not so unfortunate.

The wind/light element technique missed the _real_ necromancer, who stepped out from the shadows in the Socrates' darkened house.

The decoy exploded in a burst of greenish gas.

The Poison necromancer spoke. "Summoning techniques have always been a specialty for the Dark Mages. Fusing them with the element of Poison couldn't be easier. I'm surprised you got tricked though. The decoy has green eyes…"

"Shut up!" Amy shouted, raising her bow. "Soul Arrow! Double Shot!"

Two yellowish arrows flew from Amy's Viper, easily deflected by the Poison necromancer.

"Final Attack!"

A _third_ arrow flew, and guess where it came from.

Amy's bow was literally _smoking,_ a sonic boom still in the Socrates' ears. All eyes were on her.

"You could do a Final Attack? Amy…" Adeline Socrates, Amy's mother, gasped.

"It's quite obvious now, mum." Amy replied, a bored expression on her face.

The moment was interrupted by the common enemy, the Dark Mage, with an arrow in his shoulder. With a call.

"Wrath of Demeter!"

Liquids and gases of all color and thickness flooded the mushroom house, some _eating _through the furniture, others simply choking the inhabitants of the two-story building.

Except for two figures.

One, obviously, was the necromancer.

The other was Adeline. It was quite obvious to the others though, she being a Fire/Poison Mage.

People who have mastered the element of Poison beyond the Third Advancement were immune to poisonous objects, expired food, the like.

The middle-aged woman pulled out a wand from her robe. "Poison Breath." A ball of concentrated corrosive acids flew in an arc towards the necromancer.

It was dodged by the Poison Dark Mage, where the sphere _melted _the wooden flooring.

The Dark Mage responded. "Not bad…"

"We have you, stranger." Ankou started. "Your right shoulder has been struck by a projectile, courtesy of my daughter. You won't be able to control the direction of your techniques and spells without raising your wand…"

"Oh?" The Poison necromancer flipped his wand to his left hand, raising it. "I forgot to tell you. I'm ambidextrous."

Adeline cut in. "So be it. Fire Arrow!"

Amy and Andre joined the fight, the sea of poisons having dried up, shouting, simultaneously, "Soul Arrow! Double Shot! Final Attack!"

Six glowing arrows and a flaming arrow zoomed out from three different weapons. If one didn't hit, the others will. And if it wasn't bad enough, Ankou added an "Inferno! Strafe!"

"Wrath of Demeter!"

Another sea of corrosive and poisonous liquids erupted from the ground and rushed out from the Dark Mage. All arrows were immediately swallowed. As an additional bonus, Andre was swept off his feet and constricted by the liquids, which had frozen.

"One more move and I will kill him!" The Dark Mage waved a wand at the crossbowman, then Ankou, who had yet again raised his Dragon Shinebow. But then, the Bowmaster was hardly going to listen.

Suddenly, without warning, the Poison necromancer disappeared in a flash of blue light, taking Andre with him.

"Andre!" Amy screamed, clutching at where her younger brother used to stand.

Ankou was calm as ever. "This calls for an extreme measure." Taking out a device similar to a handphone, the Bowmaster spoke into it. "A good afternoon to you, Colonel. I'm sorry to disturb you, but I would like to have _EagleEye _mobilized immediately. Take it as a request from you friend. It's for an emergency…"

As her father continued spouting into his device, Amy wondered. EagleEye_? Isn't that the Bowmen section of BeraCross…?_

While Ankou kept his device, Amy questioned him. "_EagleEye_? Are you a guild member of BeraCross? The greatest police force not related to the Four Wise Men?"

Ankou frowned. "Very well then. No use hiding this fact from you. I am the captain of Section Two, _Eagleeye. _It's a highly dangerous position, and I don't want to implicate the Socrates, so only certain people know about this. Like the Colonel. He can be trusted."

One could tell the Hunter was getting interested. An idea began to form in her head.

"Dad." Amy started with a serious tone. "Do you think I can apply for a position in BeraCross?"

"Are you sure about this?" Ankou asked her daughter warily. "The risks are high. You could get killed, easily, without training."

Amy thought about it. _A guild for law. I can find bro more easily with BeraCross' help._

"Yes."

* * *

Pretty soon, Kane and David were touring the BeraCross' facilities in HQ00, the training camp.

BeraCross, being a large guild, had eleven sections, mini-guilds, each with a Headquarter. HQ00 was for trainees, rank one to two out of the five possible ranks in a guild.

HQ01 was also known as _HolyCross,_ the Crusader's section. Fighter, Crusaders and Heroes of rank three and four, as well as a rank five, belonged here.

HQ02 was _EagleEye, _the Bowman's section.

HQ03 was the Fire/Poison Mage's section, known as _FlameThrower._

HQ04 was the Assassin's lair. Named _SwiftStrike._

HQ05 was for Spearmen, and was known as _DragonRage._

HQ06, _FrozenArrow, _Crossbowmen.

HQ07, the Bandit's home of BeraCross. _ShadowSight._

HQ08, Ice/Lighting Mage. _StaticIce._

HQ09, Knights and Pages. _ArcaneSword._

Finally, HQ10, Clerics. Known as _DivineLight._

Of course, the duo of Kane and David were in HQ00, and watching as a recruit got beaten up.

"The combat simulator of BeraCross. To toughen up new recruits, like you. Of course, the word _simulator_ is a misnomer, the recruits simply being protected by Priests during the fight. And the Priests always allow injuries, except for fatal ones. The bruises and scars from the match remain." Their guide, a Harrison Forte, rambled on.

"Okay…" David muttered. "No need to continue. Bland enough as it is."

"Ah, but you've not reached the most exciting part yet." Harrison smiled. "There's a skillbook library, with a history of its own. The canteen of Headquarters double-zero has a variety of food. And there's the Engineering Station, where we design new weaponry."

"Design?" David questioned, interested.

"Yes, design. Don't think all weapons have to follow the usual sword, dagger, bow, all these crap. Want to know more, follow me."

A few minutes later and Harrison had the duo with him at the Engineering Station. It was interesting enough, with a busy group of mostly Clerics and Ice/Lighting Mages running about, fixing a machine here, and writing up a formula there.

"Say, it's quite hectic, eh?" David looked about him. Kane remained quiet. As usual.

"As it always is. The ES is what takes up almost half of BeraCross' funds, and we do not disappoint the Council of BeraCross." Harrison answered. The Council was a group of eleven individuals, each a Colonel from each HQ, and an eleventh GuildMaster. The duo of Kane and David were recruited by Council Member 2, Jason Rain.

"Colonel, where do I place this blade?" a female voice called out, running towards the three of them who were touring HQ00.

Harrison Forte replied. "That, Opal, is for the blacksmiths to handle. Leave it."

"Yes sir." Opal muttered, running back to her workbench, dropping the blade next to a fellow Fire/Poison Mage beside her. The Mage went to work heating it up, before hammering the blade.

David turned to their guide.

"Colonel?" He questioned.

Harrison nodded.

"Colonel Forte, Bishop of experience level 150, Council Member 10 and Colonel of _DivineLight."_

"Okay…" David muttered.

"Ah, yes, I forgot." Colonel Forte continued. "It has always been the custom of BeraCross to let ES start the recruits on their way up the ranks." He handed Kane a peculiar blade, its handle the same length as its blade, and two more blades extending sideways from its hilt. "The _Cross_ dagger, BeraCross' own weaponry. It requires an experience level of 30 to wield, but is as powerful as a Sai or Lozenge Dagger."

Immediately after that, a Cleric hurried towards the Colonel, holding a crossbow. He handed the crossbow to Harrison, who gave it to David.

"The _Auto _crossbow, another BeraCross-designed or ES-designed, weapon. It can be reloaded one-handed, and can fire bolts constantly by holding the trigger here. It requires an experience level of 30, too."

David gasped, observing the crossbow. "Wow…"

Colonel Forte looked behind him. "It's a minute walk away from the Combat Simulator, or CS, as we call it."

David started.

"You don't mean…"

"Get a head start." The Bishop cut in. "Surely you two didn't enter BeraCross for some biscuits and a cup of coffee."

Kane suddenly raised his head. "Indeed. We are not here just for fun. We are here for a reason. The duty of upholding law falls on BeraCross. And we shall continue this tradition." With that statement, the Bandit strode off.

"Wait up!" David Falcon ran after him, crossbow hanging at his hip.

"By Lith, that recruit sure is enthusiastic…" The Colonel muttered, turning to his own custom-made workbench.

* * *

Author's Note: Yes, Andre is left-handed. And sorry for the slight delay, I have more important things to do than lengthen a bunch of words with more similar words, such as overloading my brain with Chinese characters. Ahem.


	5. Duel

Author's Note: So, yeah, sorry for the delay. Failed my Higher Chinese recently. Anyway, enjoy. Not too much action today, though. Or maybe. Whatever.

* * *

Opal Nightingale had never been as excellent at weaponry design as the other usual Initiates of _DivineLight_, but here she was at the ES, slogging her young life away behind the workbench. It wasn't that she didn't have a choice between the ES and the field operations, it was that she was either afraid of dying, or afraid of making a blunder during the most tedious of operations. Or both.

Right now, she was facing the hardest challenge of her life: find a weapon for a HQ00 Recruit with no idea about what bow suited her style of fighting, only that it can shoot straight, shoot far, and shoot quick, without a high experience level requirement. The hardest challenge of her life.

"Well, is the searching done yet?" The teenage Hunter called out from a desk in front of the storage room.

"Yes, yes, coming…" Opal bluffed. In reality, she had no idea what bow could shoot straight, shoot far, and shoot quick, only that bows were curved sticks with a single string attached at both ends, to both ends of said stick.

"You'd better be quick. I have to go to the CS soon."

A single drop of sweat dripped from the poor Cleric's forehead. _What bow suits, what bow suits, what bow suits…_

"What're you looking for, Opal?"

Opal almost jumped out of her skin in surprise, whirling around.

Harrison Forte was smiling at her, hands at his back, walking towards her.

Opal breathed out with relief. "Colonel. What would you suggest for a Hunter of experience level 35 with a request for a bow that shoots straight, shoot…"

"Ok, ok, no need for the explanation. I talked to the Recruit outside. Apparently she has been waiting for at least half an hour…"

"Twenty-three minutes, actually."

"At least you took the time to count this time round." The young Colonel said, the slightest hint of a smile on his face.

"Don't chide me, Colonel. You know I hate sarcasm." The Initiate very nearly sulked.

"Alright, alright. Just get out of here."

Amy Socrates was the picky Recruit at the desk, drumming her fingers impatiently while the _DivineLight_ Initiate chose a new bow for her. She had been guided around the HQ00 facilities by Council Members 4 and 7, Torah and Sora Diablo respectively. They were one of the most famous of twins, both having reached the position of Colonel at the same time. The trip was most informative, but Amy was only concerned with two things: Her equipment, and her training area.

Now, with knowledge of the CS, the young Hunter was just waiting for her newly-issued weapon.

While deep in her thoughts, a voice came, "Recruit Socrates, here is your bow. I apologise for the delay."

Said Recruit looked up to find Colonel Forte holding a grey bow, with the Initiate behind him, head bowed.

"About time too. Thank you for taking the trouble to help me find a suitable weapon." Amy nodded her head.

"No problem," the Colonel replied, "anyway, this Carbon Composite Bow is one of our newest creations. It features a machine which allows much more forceful shots without using too much force or breaking the bowstring, meaning it shoots fast and straight."

"Thanks a lot, sir. Now, if I may go for my training please."

"Of course. But before that, I have a letter for you." Harrison pulled out an envelope, the famous golden Greek cross in a white background, the symbol of BeraCross, being used as a seal.

Amy opened the envelope, scanning through the letter. It contained a single sentence. Or two.

_Meet me at the Council Hall immediately. Bring Initiate Nightingale with you._

_Signed,_

_Council Member 9_

_Duran Scribe_

"This came from a Colonel. It must be important…" Amy muttered.

Opal was peeking at the letter from the Hunter's shoulders. "_Bring Initiate Nightingale with you_...? What could the Colonel want with me?"

"How would I know?" Amy called back, stuffing the letter in her pocket while looking around for directions. "Damn. The bloke forgot I'm a new recruit…now where's the Council Hall?"

"Look's like _I'll_ be the one bringing _you._" Opal replied. "Here. Just follow me, and nothing will go wrong."

"There had better be nothing going wrong." The Hunter retorted. "I'm sacrificing my training time for this."

Opal went indignant. "How noble. Now _move."_

* * *

At the CS, the pair of David and Kane was facing each other, at opposite sides of the room. A few pillars could be found here and there, more for giving combatants an ability to use the pillars to hide, rebound from, and so on, more than as a support.

Kane raised his _Cross_ dagger. "I hate to say this, but I'm not going to be showing any mercy today. You need it."

David raised his _Auto _crossbow. "Well, that suits me fine. Begin." He shot a bolt at Kane.

Kane dodged to the right, the bolt burying itself into the wall behind where the Bandit used to stand.

The Crossbowman swung his right hand to the left, whispering, "Double Shot."

This time, _two _bolts flew towards the Bandit, one missing while the other was deflected by Kane's Seclusion Wristguard.

But David was not done yet.

"Final Attack!"

A _third _arrow flew, striking Kane at his left shoulder. The Wristguard dropped from his hand.

Wincing, Kane ran towards his opponent, whispering, "Dark Sight."

The Bandit disappeared in a puff of smoke, before appearing behind David.

"Double Stab."

Just then, David whispered, "Focus." A blue eye started glowing above the Crossbowman, and he started to move _faster_, dodging all of Kane's blows.

Immediately after that, the Crossbowman kicked Kane, propelling himself towards the other end of the room.

The Bandit stood his ground, before charging at David, who shot a few bolts at him while backpedaling. Kane jumped towards a pillar, rebounding off the pillar before rolling on the ground, dodging all of the Crossbowman's ammunition.

"God, that's a determined one." David muttered to himself. Suddenly, Colonel Forte's voice could be heard from above.

"Focus, Recruit Falcon! No time for some banter."

"Not like I want it." David called back. He dodged behind a pillar just in time to avoid Kane's lunge forward.

Following that lunge, the Bandit kicked in the direction opposite David, holding his dagger in front of him. The force of the kick pushed him straight at the Crossbowman, the _Cross _dagger barely blocked by David's crossbow. The _Auto_'s material stood.

Kane flicked his dagger down, a blade extending from the _Cross_' side scratching David at the chest. He then whispered, "Disorder."

David's vision started to grow blurry. He couldn't see shapes, just colours floating around. The Crossbowman swung his crossbow in all directions, shooting off bolts at an unimaginable speed.

Kane, with a "Dagger Booster," started deflecting off the numerous bolts flying at him, before nailing David down with a quick strike at his throat. However, the Crossbowman was not down yet. As his vision cleared, he found a _Cross _dagger flying at him. He grabbed the blade with gloved hands, the resulting force from stopping the movement of the blade sending both of them flying towards a wall.

The Bandit had David at the throat, backed against a wall. There was no escape. He had won this round.

However, the ever-calm Crossbowman had a few more tricks up his sleeves. He raised his _Auto _to Kane's chin, Kane forgetting about his opponent's hands left unguarded.

As expected, the Bandit dodged to the side, dagger still at David's throat.

The Crossbowman shouted, "Power Knockback!" slamming his _Auto_ into Kane's chest. Kane, with his back to the wall, doubtless had a few bones broken. Impact from both front and back.

Suddenly, both David and Kane found themselves in a small room, David sitting on a bench while Kane was lying on an operating table, having his broken ribs treated by a few _DivineLight_ surgeons.

"By Lith, you seem to be quite promising, young David." A voice could be heard. A man in his forties walked into the room, a white cape trailing behind him. David recognized it as part of the attire of a Council member. No doubt there was a golden Greek cross on it, with a Roman numeral ranging from I to XI.

"Ah, yes, I forgot to introduce myself. The name's Zach Tzu. Council member 6."

_So the guy has a _VI_ on that cape, _David thought to himself. "A pleasure to meet you, sir. What brings you here?"

"So formal." Colonel Tzu smiled. "Just as Jason told me."

"Jason? You mean Colonel Rain of _Eagleeye_, sir?"

"Yes. That's the guy. And he has a letter for you."

"For me, sir?"

"Yes, you. Wipe that puzzled look off your face, Recruit."

"What could the Colonel want with me?"

Zach sighed. "Questions won't help, young Recruit. Anyway, _read it_."

David scanned through the letter.

"Okay. The Council Hall. Now where in HQ00 can it be?"

Zach said, simply, "Follow me." David agreed. But not without another question.

"What about Kane? I can't just leave him here."

Zach sighed again. "This guy sure is inquisitive. Recruit Anderson can lie here and wait for his wounds to heal."

David raised an eyebrow, seemingly thinking about it. "Okay…"

"Yeah, it's all okay. Just _move_."

* * *

"So let me get this straight. You call me all the way here, from my training, just to say I'm special to BeraCross and then leave it as it is?" Amy flared up.

"Cool it, cool it." Colonel Rain tried to calm the Recruit, to no avail. "I didn't say I'll leave it as it is. I brought you here today because you'll be needed to track down a group of criminals, but not just you."

"Okay. Not just me. So I assume that the rest are coming?" Amy raised an eyebrow.

"Yes, yes. Ah, here they are. Or he is." Jason stood up, shaking the just-entered Colonel Tzu's hand. Behind him was a teenager, slightly shorter than the Colonel, a crossbow slung at his hip. He was looking around with quite enough curiosity. "The Council Hall?"

"Stop asking questions, Recruit Falcon. It's getting me pissed off." Colonel Tzu sighed.

"Yes sir." Said Recruit mumbled.

Amy gasped. "David! Is that you?"

David whirled around to the table to see two teenage girls. He recognized one.

"Amy!"

Amy ran and grasped David's hand tightly.

"You joined BeraCross too?"

David raised an eyebrow. "It's quite obvious now."

Colonel Rain interrupted. "So you two know each other?"

David and Amy both nodded. "Yes."

"Well, what a coincidence." The forgotten Opal said, smiling.

"She is…?" David looked to Colonel Rain.

"Initiate Opal Nightingale, streaming from 00 to _DivineLight._" Opal spoke up.

"Recruit David Falcon. Nice to meet you."

"Okay, so the ice-breaking is all over, lets start on the briefing." Jason said. He walked to the door. "I have some matters to attend to, though. I'll let Colonel Scribe do the talking."

All attention was on the Paladin.

"Okay, so I'll just get to the point. You three are here today because you have been chosen for a mission. A very important one."

David raised a hand. "Wait a moment there. If this is as important as you say, why send us? Why not the higher-ups?"

The Colonel smiled. "In due time, young Recruit. As I was saying, you've been chosen for a mission." He pointed to a screen. Eight cloaked figures appeared on it. "These are necromancers of the guild Necrons. They are special in the sense that they are able to collect the souls of those who die in their presence. However, only certain people can have their soul absorbed by them. Once they collect enough souls, a portal will be opened and mass amounts of Zakums will spawn around Bera."

"Whoa…" David muttered.

"As such, we need to destroy the necromancers. Even killing one of them can stop the portal opening. However, each of them is strong enough to cause havoc on their own, as Opal and Amy might have experienced."

David looked at Amy. There was a puzzled look on his face.

"The thing about the necromancers is that they can only be killed by a person who has seen them absorb a soul."

"Wait." Amy said. "If that's the case, then…"

"Yes," Colonel Scribe had an apologetic look on his face. "Andre's most probably dead by now. I'm sorry, Amy."

"Anyway, back to the subject. As only a few have witnessed that, you three included, the Council has decided to send a team of five to kill at least one of the necromancers."

"Five? Where's the other two?" Opal questioned.

As if on cue, the door opened and three figures appeared.

One was Colonel Rain. A slightly smaller figure was beside him. Kane, with a bandage on his shoulder. A last one was most familiar to Amy.

Amy gasped for the second time in so many minutes.

"Dad!"

* * *

And yes, that's the end of today's chapter. Anyway, here's a small something to clear up some minds about BeraCross' ranking system:

Rank 1: Recruit. Has access to the CS and certain other facilities in HQ00, with a higher-up's recommendation or having to register with those in charge.

Rank 2: Initiate. Basically a Recruit streaming into one of ten HQs in BeraCross.

Rank 3: Corporal. Has access to all HQ00's facilities except for Council Hall and certain other areas, unless allowed by higher-up. Has access to certain areas of respective HQ.

Rank 4: Captain. Has access to all areas of HQ00, and able to visit other HQs. Only 10 seats.

Rank 5: Colonel. Has access to all areas of HQ00 and respective HQ. Able to visit other HQs, with more areas available than Captain. Member of Council. Only 10 seats.

Rank 6: GuildMaster. Runs the guild. Only 1 seat. Only person who is expelled from guild through a voting system. Once more than 80 percent of Council agrees, the current GuildMaster will be expelled.


	6. Necromancers

Author's Note: Okay, so sorry for the delay, yet again. This chapter will see _another_ team, and more necromancers. XD.

* * *

"Okay, so here's the plan." A voice came. The area fell silent.

"We get in, create a distraction, and dear Ronox here will assassinate the targets. Clear?"

Various replies came, but all meant the same thing.

_Clear._

The leader rushed into the heavily camouflaged house, pushing past the vines and branches. Two more followed. A last person, apparently Ronox, ran towards the opposite side of the house, never making a sound. A Half-Moon Zamadar hung at his hip, shining in the moonlight.

The same voice could be heard again, this time shouting, "_Charge!"_

_Distraction. Check, check._

Ronox spoke into a handphone-like device. "Done, Jonas?"

"Yes, Corporal Neo. Please address me by rank next time, Corporal."

"Yes sir, _Captain _Zone. With all due respect, _is the distraction done?_"

"Wait for the second scream. Don't worry, Corporal, I'm loud."

"I know that, Jonas."

Captain Zone breathed in deeply. No point losing his head during an operation.

The Captain raised his Devil's Sunrise.

"Captain. Captain."

"Fine, _Captain._"

The next thing the Corporal knew, another shout rang across the Ellinian forest. Time for some action.

The young Corporal dashed into the house, dagger in hand, whispering, "Haste."

Ronox ran in just in time to see his teammate, Recruit Gordon Michaels, an Assassin, fling a Steely into an opponent.

Corporal Neo took that chance to slash said opponent from behind, at the neck. The poor guy fell.

"Nice one, Ron. Repeat that for me." Gordon beamed at the Corporal.

"Sure thing, Mike." Ronox smiled back, jumping back out of the house.

A slightly muffled voice came from Gordon's device. "_Watch in five seconds, Mike._"

Exactly five seconds later, a second window in the house was smashed, and the Bandit Ronox jumped in, slashing at the throat of another target.

"One more down."

The Recruit looked around. Captain Zone was distracting enough, shouting war cries and slashing at various opponents. Being over two metres tall probably helped, too.

Suddenly, Gordon felt something. A weird feeling. Some called it a sixth sense, some call it gut feeling. But to the Assassin, it was a sign of impending trouble.

He whirled around to see a Page, mace raised, charging at him. His eyes glowed red, a purple mist surrounded the mace's head. The blunt weapon fell…

…where it stopped, right in front of Gordon. A bloodied point could be seen sticking out of the Page's chest. The glowing in his eyes and mace stopped, and he fell sideways, as a spear was pulled out of his body. A slightly slim figure, with a spear longer than him in his hand, stood behind the fallen Page.

"Be more alert, Gordon."

"Yes, Jerry…" Gordon smiled.

Said Spearman Jerry walked over to the Captain. "Cleared out, sir?"

"Yes, Corporal Lawson." Captain Zone nodded affirmative.

Ronox walked over to the group. "There, Jonas. It was all fine, wasn't it?"

"_Captain_ Zone…Corporal."

"Who's your Corporal? I'm here because your dear BeraCross hired me, remember."

"Yes, yes, Corporal…Ronox. But I'm still in charge, so no…"

"I won't ruin BeraCross, Jonas. Far from it."

Gordon interrupted. "Sir, just now that Page who attacked me had some weird features on him."

Captain Zone had this bored look on his face. "Such as? A third arm? That isn't a Vortigaunt, Gordon."

Gordon sulked. "Don't make fun of my name, sir. My dad was the one who was a Half-Life fan, not me. And the special feature was red eyes and…"

"Red eyes? Your imagination serves you well, Recruit." The captain smiled.

"Wait, sir." Jerry raised a hand. "I noticed the guy too. His mace was glowing…purple…"

Captain Zone turned to face him. "Corporal Jericho Lawson. There isn't any problem, and there will not be. I know what you're getting at. I don't care what stupid ideals BeraCross follows, but as far as I'm concerned, necromancers do not exist. There was never an element of Darkness. You hear me?"

"But sir." Jerry started. "Spearmen use Darkness…"

It was too late though, for the Captain's device started beeping. A voice came in. "_Would Captain Zone please arrive at the Council Hall immediately. Bring your team with you."_

"Another mission?" Ronox said. "God, I need a break…"

"Shut up. Follow me." Captain Zone replied.

* * *

Kane, David, Opal, Amy and Ankou were seated around this coffee table in a bunk, facing one another.

"An icebreaker session helps to bond a team, and a bonded team is more efficient in battle. Let's start with Amy." Ankou started, smiling fondly at his daughter.

"Dad. We know each other already." Amy replied, a bored look on her face, the usual when she talks with family.

"Oh? Okay…" Ankou smiled.

"Why are we waiting around here? Shouldn't we be starting on the operation?" Kane suddenly cut in.

"Kane, apparently the Council has some matters to attend to before we are allowed to start. Be patient, recklessness kills." David muttered.

"How true, how true." Ankou nodded his head.

"I just wish to avenge Dad as soon as possible. Every second we wait is a second the necromancers get more powerful, if the portion about the soul-absorbing is true…"

Opal put a hand on Kane's shoulder. "Look, I know how you feel. Both my parents and my two sisters were killed by necromancers of Earth and Wind, judging by their techniques. I still remember the battle to this day…" a tear fell from her face.

Kane looked down. "Sorry," he said, a single word.

Opal quickly wiped the tear, smiling. "Nah, it isn't your fault. I've learnt to let go anyway. It was so long ago…" the Cleric looked at Kane, straight in the eye. "Perhaps one should learn to let go of whoever's not with them. Don't hold on to the sadness."

Kane smiled. "Perhaps. Thank you."

David and Amy looked at each other, and both knew what the other was thinking.

_Kane smiling. That's a good sign. He's recovering quickly._

* * *

"Alright, we're here, so shoot." Ronox sat himself at a seat in the Council Hall. The rest of the team was seated around the front of the table, patiently waiting for their briefing.

Colonel Lugete Crux of _HolyCross_ was pointing at various figures and shapes on a blackboard, marking certain areas. No one paid much attention to the markings, but everyone knew what was happening.

"You four are here today, because the Council has found you perfect for this mission. You will be guarding a team of five people. Make sure they are not killed."

Everyone knew what the Colonel meant. Making sure one was not killed meant killing those who would hurt. Simple.

"The next thing is, do not be found by _anyone_, including those you are guarding."

Everyone looked at the Colonel. All had the same expressions. It meant: _Are you nuts?_

"Don't question the Council. We have our reasons." Colonel Crux smiled.

Captain Zone quickly started talking. "Yes, sir. We shall do as the Council orders. For BeraCross."

"You do that, and perhaps someone can be promoted." The Colonel grinned, facing Gordon. "Eh, Recruit Freeman?"

"My surname's Michaels, _not _Freeman. I'm not a crazy scientist who shoots up aliens."

"Very well then." The Colonel opened the door. "Good luck. You'll need it."

"Like hell we do." Ronox muttered. "You don't need to see us out."

The Colonel smiled yet again. "I won't. Take care." He slammed the door shut.

"So much for respecting our higher-ups. _They _don't respect us." Ronox muttered.

"Take it easy, dude." Jerry caught up with his teammate and past academy mate. "After all, Lugete won't be the one taking all the glory."

* * *

Back to said Colonel Lugete. As he walked back into the Hall, Colonel Rain appeared from behind a wall, the one where the blackboard was located.

"So, mourner, job done?"

Colonel Crux frowned. "Stop the Lugete, mourn thing. You don't have to show off your supreme Latin."

Jason smiled, putting his hand up. "Alright, friend."

"Anyway, why did you want to make sure Captain Socrates and the rest do not have knowledge of the other team?"

Jason's grin grew wider, if it was possible.

"Well, if Kane and company do not know that they have help, they'd defend themselves better, thinking they have only themselves to survive."

Lugete raised an eyebrow. "That's good thinking, Jason. You do seem quite protective of Kane, though."

Jason turned, back facing the Hero. "BeraCross needs him. He has potential."

* * *

To Kane's delight, the Council has decided for them to start on the mission immediately, and the team of five was on their way to Necron's supposed headquarters.

"So, how'd you know Necron's location, then?" Amy raised an eyebrow, looking at Opal.

Opal returned the look. "I just decided to follow this Necroite Spearman one day, and found their base of operations. Anything strange about that?"

"Didn't you think it was albeit convenient? This Necroite appears and you walk behind him, then you find the Necron's HQ."

"Well, which other areas do we go to, then? The tickets to Orbis have been paid for."

"Yes, and with what? Four hundred thousand mesos. From where? BeraCross' very own funds."

"Quit this." David cut in, raising his hand. "We just follow Opal's directions for now, and if she's wrong, _then_ you start killing her, not now."

"Hear that, Recruit?"

"Well, just _make sure_ you are _not_ wrong, then." The Hunter muttered.

David rolled his eyes, catching up with Kane, who was speed-walking in front of the team. Ankou covered the back, making sure no one went missing.

"Those two are literally killing me." The Crossbowman sighed, looking around the forests of Ellinia. A stray Slime pounced at the team, quickly transfixed by an arrow from Ankou.

"Then don't let them. We need all the manpower we have to defeat the necromancers."

"So you still have your lip, eh?" David smirked.

"Yeah, yeah, don't worry about my state of mind. Worry about your physical state."

David sighed yet again. "Relax for once, won't you? A tense teenager won't kill eight great Dark Mages."

"One must take one's duty seriously." Kane said, simply.

David let the bandit overtake him. "_All_ of them are killing me." He looked behind to find Ankou, hand twitching on his bowstring, arrow in hand. One could see his eyes, ever watchful, ever wandering. "_All_ of them."

* * *

"_Jonas._ How many times must I tell you to be quieter?" Ronox berated his Captain. "They don't want the Recruits to know us here."

"_Captain_ Zone. And I'm quieter than a mouse, for a Crusader." Jonas muttered.

"Shut up, Ron. And Captain, please keep quiet, thank you." Jericho whispered to the two.

"I'll shut up when Jonas learns to."

"You…" The Captain was obviously _very_ pissed off.

"Captain! A Necroite!" Recruit Michaels shouted.

"Quiet…" Jericho whispered.

However, that order was soon the least of the Spearman's troubles, for a Page, flanked by two Spearmen, rushed into the group of four.

And the interesting thing was, all three had red eyes. And a weapon, glowing purple at the tip.

"Mask of Decay!"

The Page slammed his mace into where Ronox once stood. Once stood.

The mace hit a tree. A purplish glow appeared at the dent, and the area started rotting.

"By Lith…" Jonas went wide-eyed.

"Power Strike!"

A Spearman slashed his pole arm at Jericho, which was blocked by his spear. Jericho pushed the pole arm away, before stabbing at his opponent.

"Dark Will!"

The spear stabbed _into_ the Dark Spearman, its tip reappearing out of the front of the same Spearman's chest, very nearly stabbing into Jericho. The Corporal of _DragonRage_ jumped to a side, pulling his spear out, lashing back with a Power Strike, which was deflected by his opponent's pole arm.

Suddenly, a Steely flew at the Dark Spearman, burying itself into his chin. The Spearman groaned, before Jericho followed up with a stab at his chest. The Necroite fell.

The second Dark Spearman ran behind Jericho, shouting, "Slash Blast!"

His spear met with Jericho, the force of the slash hitting Gordon, who had arrived to find out if his Steely had hit.

The Dark Spearman withdrew his spear, lashing out for another attack…

…stopping in mid-movement.

Ronox _appeared_ behind the Spearman, dagger at his neck. There were twin red lines on his throat. The Dark Spearman fell, too.

At another corner, Captain Zone finished off the Dark Page with a slash to his waist, before using the momentum to behead him.

"All clear." The Captain muttered, walking towards his group. "How's everyone?"

'Not too good…" Ronox replied. "Jerry took a blow behind him. A mastered Slash Blast. Mike's not too bad though…"

"We need to bring them to somewhere safe. Perhaps Ellinia. Some Clerics there could help the two."

"Affirmative, Captain." Even Ronox realized the seriousness of their current plight.

Gordon stirred. All eyes were on him. His first line was, "Captain, now you know?"

Captain Zone nodded. "And I thought they were just a group of necromancer wannabes. Always wondered why BeraCross hunted them down. Looks like they really knew how to use Darkness."

"Actually they _started_ as a group of necromancer fanatics who made a guild called Necrons. Then, slowly, they found out the secrets of using Darkness. How could they resist it?" Gordon replied.

"And you know all this because…?"

Gordon took a deep breath, before pulling his right sleeve up.

A crossed-out _N _could be seen on his shoulder.

* * *

Author's Note: So how was it? I finished the last two scenes while I had a cold, so…sorry if it's not up to standard. BTW, Half-Life is a series of video games, of which Counter-Strike originated from, as a mod. The Vortigaunts were enemies in Half-Life, and allies from Half-Life 2 onwards, and Gordon Freeman was Half-Life's main character. BTW again, Lugete is 'mourn' in Latin, and Crux is 'cross'. Found some _very_ simple translations on Wikipedia.


	7. Side Story 1: Runaway

Author's Note: Okay, seeing that I'll be going on a camp from 10th June till 12th June, I'd like to write a short side plot/ prologue. Hope this suffices for now. The next chapter for Prologue comes out _after_ my camp. Sorry for the delay.

But for now, enjoy.

Note: This will be Gordon Michaels' explanation to Ronox, Jericho and Jonas for his tattoo. The parts without them three, at any rate.

_

* * *

_

12 years pre-Prologue

The two cloaked figures strode to the tent, or what was a tent. The cloth had been ripped to shreds, blood and gore covered the charred remains.

One figure nodded to the other, and both started searching the remains.

In a few minutes, the latter exclaimed in delight. She held what seemed like a bundle of clothes up high, letting the other person hold on to it.

He pulled at the cloth, finding a baby seemingly staring back at him.

He looked at the other, and, beneath the hood, one could see a faint smile.

They both nodded and walked away, taking the child with them.

_12 years later_

"Gordon! Come back here!" a voice rang through the snowy fields of El Nath.

A young boy, Garnier in hand, ran towards the voice. A person, cloaked in black, appeared.

"Yes, dad?" Gordon smiled up at his supposed father.

"Don't run around here. Stay in town. It's dangerous."

"But…but I'm bored…"

"Yes, Gordon, I know. It's only for a few days. Be a good boy and stay in the cottage. Uncle John will take care of you."

"But he's weird! He goes about with a stern face, and scolds me at the slightest reason!"

The cloaked figure sighed again. "I know that. Sorry, but just put up with him for a few more days. Just a few more days."

Finding no more hope, Gordon bowed his head, leaving for the town of El Nath.

"Just stay for a few more days…what does dad want here?" Gordon muttered to himself.

* * *

The same cloaked figure appeared at the first storey of Orbis Tower, meeting up with another cloaked man. However, the cloak of that particular person was different: crimson lines could be seen on both sleeves and the hood.

The former knelt down, saying, "Greetings, master."

"Ah, Dusk. Always the formal one. Stand up; I don't want to attract attention here."

"Yes, master."

"Alright. So a question before the real one. Why did you bring the child with you?" The black and crimson figure raised an eyebrow beneath that hood.

"Since the Ordinatio has ordered me to take care of Gordon for him to join the ranks of Necrons, I don't think it's any problem that I let Gordon be around me at all times," Dusk replied.

"Fair enough. But why isn't the child here now?" the man smiled.

"I can trust Johnson. He's part of the Ordinatio himself. Wouldn't you trust him, master Formidilosus?" Dusk questioned his superior.

"Formid. Just call me Formid. You know I hate my given name," Formid sighed.

"Yes, master, I mean, Formid," Dusk bowed his head. "By the way, why am I summoned?"

"A simple mission. Elementary. Kill necromancer Johnson."

"Kill Johnson? How can you? He's your equal…" Dusk stammered.

"I'm under orders from the Highest himself. Not that I want him dead, but the rest of Ordinatio want him dead. They're afraid he's becoming too ambitious. Look at how he became a member of Ordinatio! He actually blackmailed Necrons!" Formid was getting hot-tempered, as he seldom was.

"But…but I thought…" Dusk continued stammering, "wasn't Johnson always loyal? He completed Necron's hardest missions himself, risking his life for the guild…"

"Okay Shut. Up. Seriously. This is an order from the Highest himself, you do as told." Formid left for Orbis, walking up the frozen stairs of Orbis Tower.

Dusk frowned.

_Looks like I have no other choice. I'm sorry, Necrons._

* * *

Gordon was shivering at the side of the room, and it was not due to the cold of El Nath. In any case, he would have preferred to be outside, dying of cold, than inside, being murdered verbally by Uncle John.

"Little brat! I can see you! Come out now and there'll be less punishment for you," a deep voice boomed from outside the room.

"Like real you can," Gordon muttered, forgetting about Johnson's abilities. The necromancer was famous for being able to 'see' through items to find people, by sourcing out traces of mana. It just so happened that Gordon had cast a Dark Sight over himself.

"Oh?" Johnson strode confidently into the room. "One more chance. If you will reveal yourself and kneel before me I might think of a lighter sentence."

Gordon gritted his teeth. The young Rogue had witnessed Johnson's definition of 'punishment', and he didn't want to feel it physically.

"Poof. Last chance gone," Johnson calmly reached behind a crate, pulling Gordon out of his hiding place. "Now, what should I do? No loss of life, but something near…"

"Johnson! What are you doing? Put Gordon down!" Dusk was at the entrance of the room. "I said put him down!"

"Why, Dusk, so concerned about your boy?" Johnson smiled, "this little guy here refused to come chopping some firewood with me. What do you expect me to do?"

"Just put him down. We can talk later about this," Dusk stared at his fellow necromancer.

Johnson looked at the struggling Rogue.

"Fine," He dropped Gordon, making him land painfully on a rotten plank.

"Gordon!" Dusk ran to his son.

"He'll be fine. Necron's own training regime."

"Shut up!" Dusk snapped at Johnson.

He looked back to Gordon. "You fine, son?"

"Yes…dad." Gordon stammered, "I'll be fine. Don't worry."

"See, your own son said so. Don't worry," Johnson smiled.

Dusk stared straight at him. "You'd better stop all this, Johnson. He's Necron's hope."

Johnson laughed. "Necron's hope? Don't make me laugh. How can a weakling like him be Necron's hope?"

Dusk suddenly flared up, punching Johnson right in the face. The necromancer was no match for Dusk's strength, falling immediately.

"Don't worry, friend. That will only make you unconscious, you'll be fine," Dusk whispered.

Gordon grabbed his father's hand tightly, shivering. "Dad…"

Dusk remembered about his son, next to him.

"Come. We need to go."

* * *

Father and son ran through the fields of El Nath, Dusk destroying any creatures standing between him and the Orbis Tower.

Finally, they reached the tower, Gordon panting, Dusk looking all around them, watchful of other fellow necromancers.

When Gordon finally caught his breath, he asked his father, a single question, "Why have you brought me here, Dad?"

"Later. For now, just run, run like the wind."

"Why, Dad?" Gordon insisted, "and Uncle John too. He isn't a bad guy; he's just a little cruel. Why?"

"Okay," Dusk finally said, "I have been given orders by the Highest to kill Uncle John."

Gordon raised an eyebrow. "Then why did I have to run away?"

Dusk sighed. "After being in Necrons for your whole life, you still don't know how we operate. When we are given an order to kill, it involves killing all witnesses. You count as a witness."

Gordon's eyes went wide.

"You mean…"

"The Highest was giving an indirect order to kill you, Gordon."

"But why me?"

"I'll tell you later," the necromancer replied, "let's go to Orbis first. We're a lot safer there."

* * *

After climbing up half of Orbis Tower, Dusk finally decided to take a rest. He walked to the exact centre of the 10th storey, and knocked on a wall. The wall crumbled, revealing a dark cave. A dim light shone out from the cave.

"We can talk inside," Dusk said, pointing inside the cave, "You need some rest too."

Gordon crouched, slowly walking into the cave, followed by Dusk. When they were inside, Dusk used a Gaia's Wrath technique to block up the opening.

"We are safe now," Gordon whispered.

"Glad you know that."

"Okay, dad, why does Necrons want to kill me?"

Dusk sighed yet again. "Looks like I'll have to start from the beginning."

"The stories I told you about how you mom died was all false, Gordon. You were found by Dawn and me in Perion. You were just a baby then. The tent you were found in was torn to shreds, and your guardians were found dead. I decided to take you back to Necrons, where Dawn and I were given strict orders to bring you up as a Necroite."

Gordon looked up, wide eyed. "And then?"

"Then, when you were just a novice, without having gone through a single advancement, the Ordinatio decided you were a talented boy. They brought you up wanting you to be one of Necrons' best soldiers."

"However, they noticed one thing: you were not affected by Darkness. I, as well as Necrons, was amazed by how you learnt Darkness techniques, one after the other, without suffering side effects."

"Side effects?"

"Yes, side effects. A person who uses Darkness will usually get a fever for the 1st month they use the element. But that's only a minor effect. Prolonged usage will cause pale skin, red eyes, and most of all, insanity."

"But…I'm…"Gordon stammered.

"You're a rare case. I am too. However, the Ordinatio never noticed that on me, most probably because I was good at hiding it. The best necromancers do not suffer these side effects. They thought you would be insane, as such, it would have been easier to control you."

"Now, seeing that you are perfectly fine in your mind, they've decided that you are a danger to Necrons, and have ordered me indirectly to kill you," Dusk said, "or so I think. But it's quite obvious."

Gordon fell back against the wall. This sudden flood of information was too much for him.

Suddenly, he sat up.

"Wait. Isn't Dawn only a year older than me?"

Dusk sighed.

"The Ordinatio will be having my head for all the secrets I'm giving. Dawn and Dusk are actually positions in the Ordinatio, exceptionally good necromancers. Everyone who takes this position leaves their real name behind and takes this name. The former Dawn was killed two years after finding you by some Priests."

"Oh…" Gordon nodded.

Dusk stood up.

"We don't have time to waste. Get moving, Gordon. Don't worry; I'll always be behind you."

* * *

Soon, Gordon and Dusk were at the Orbis Station, waiting for a ship to arrive and take Gordon to Sixtopia Station.

Dusk pulled up Gordon's right sleeve. An _N_ was tattooed there, glowing green.

"Lend me a Steely please, Gordon."

Gordon held up a Steely he produced from his pocket.

"This isn't going to hurt, is it?"

'I'm sorry, but just bear with it."

Gordon's eyes went wide, before he cringed.

"Sorry. I decided a little bit of Darkness could be used as ink for the tattoo. Forgot it just so happened to be a combat technique."

Gordon looked at his shoulder, albeit with some difficulty. The green glowing had stopped, and there was a bleeding line across the _N_.

"You're officially not a member of Necrons now, so be free to do whatever you want."

Gordon looked at Dusk. "What about you?"

Dusk smiled. "I'll be fine. But you can come in a year though, to find me. Don't worry, I'd have quit Necrons. Bring your new friends along."

"Yes," the Assassin smiled, "yes, dad."

_

* * *

_

1 year later

"Are we there yet?" Ronox yawned, twirling his dagger.

"Yes, yes…" Gordon replied, searching the city of Orbis. "Dad said he'll be here."

"Sure? Captain Zone is going to have our heads if he finds out we wasted three tickets on this trip," Jericho questioned his friend and teammate.

"It'll be worth it. In fact, it _is_ worth it. Come on!" Gordon waved them towards him, running around the city.

Ronox rolled his eyes.

"Just don't get too lost around here, Mike."

"Sure thing, Ron."

"Wait," Jericho motioned for them to stop, "this must be it. You said your dad's living in a weapons shop, right?"

"Yeah…"

"Here we are."

Gordon ran to the door of the shop, quickly opening and rushing through it. Ronox and Jericho followed.

A fairy was waiting behind a counter. "May I help you?"

"Do you happen to know anyone by the name of Dusk?"

"Why, he's just upstairs!"

"Thanks!"

Gordon ran up the stairs of the shop, finding a bedroom, filled with books of every variety.

A cloaked figure turned around, facing Gordon. He took of his hood.

"Dad!"

"Gordon!"

Just then, Ronox strode up, muttering a, "hi there."

Dusk looked up. "This is…"

"Have you forgotten, dad? You told me to bring my friends the next time I visited!"

"Oh yeah. Hi. What's your name?" Dusk smiled.

"In a moment, sir," Ronox replied. He looked down the stairs, shouting, "get up, Jerry! The spears here are too expensive!"

"Jerry?" Dusk questioned.

"Ah, yeah," Gordon smiled, "The bandit's Ronox Neo, or Ron, and the guy downstairs is Jericho Lawson. You know his nickname."

"I see," Dusk smiled, "but what's most important is that you've come, Gordon!"

Gordon beamed back. "Thanks. Thanks, dad."

* * *

Okay, so that's that, and the next chapter comes out after my camp. Sorry, folks.


	8. Assault

Author's Note: Alright, so camp's over, I've slept for 11 hours to compensate for staying awake for 48 hours straight, and now I've completed another chapter. Busy but boring life…

New necromancers abound!

* * *

"So, that's how I got this," Gordon finished, pointing at his crossed-out _N_.

"So Dusk was a necromancer?" Ronox asked.

"Err…no. He quit Necrons shortly after me."

"Okay…"

"So, what difference does it make?" Captain Zone cut in. "We are supposed to be protecting Ankou's team, not idling."

"I love your patience, Jonas," Ronox replied. "We need as much knowledge bout Necrons as possible, in case we are assaulted again."

"It's Captain Zone, Corporal."

"Just shut up about the Captain thing for once, would you?"

"You know vey well you can get demoted for that."

"Oh? You'll fire me? You won't dare to."

"Look!" Gordon motioned at an area of the forest. A few figures could be seen marching towards them. All shared certain characteristics. Red eyes, pale skin, purple glowing weapons.

"Necrons!" Ronox stood up, running to a side. "Captain, you distract them. I'll ambush them from behind."

"Who's supposed to be giving the orders now?" Captain Zone muttered, gripping his Doombringer. "Bring it on, psychos."

As if on cue, the Dark Warriors rushed onto the Captain, swords, spears, axes and whatnot raised.

The Captain swung his Doombringer, blocking all eight Warriors.

A spear user decided to use the butt end of his spear to give Jonas a whack in the stomach. The Captain saw that move, smashing his sword down to crush the spear, before forcing the spear into its own user by pushing at it with his sword's flat end. One down, more to go.

He raised his sword in time to block another strike, before ducking and stabbing into a mace user, below his shield. He pulled himself to the poor Dark Warrior, using his shield to block more attacks before using the Warrior himself as a meat shield.

He then threw the Warrior away, but not before throwing the shield like a boomerang, crashing it into two Warriors. He took advantage of their disorientation, using a Slash Blast to destroy both. Half of the forces gone.

Suddenly, a black figure sped through the crowd. _Ronox is quick,_ the Captain thought to himself.

However, he noticed said Bandit Ronox at another end, quickly dispatching another group of troops, with Gordon attracting all the attention, accurately flinging Steelies into the Warriors.

A Bandit, eyes glowing red, stabbed at the Captain with a dagger, suddenly glowing purple.

"Silence."

Jonas felt a sharp object plunge into his stomach, followed by a sudden tiredness. He then realized the full effects of the technique.

He tried to do a Shout, but could not find enough mana within him to increase the power of his scream. _Simple, _Jonas told himself. He pulled out a mana elixir, quickly drinking it and throwing the bottle at a Dark Warrior, striking his head. He then shouted, "Power Strike!" slashing at a Dark Warrior. He realized he still remained exhausted, and that his attack wasn't as powerful as it would have been with added mana.

The Dark Bandit whispered, "You're quite a promising opponent, so I'll just let you in on the secret. Silence blocks up the mana flow. You still have mana, but you can't reach it."

Jonas remembered. Colonel Forte had told him that mana was contained in the body, and flowed out whenever called on, mostly by using a mana consuming technique. Certain Darkness techniques had the ability to block the flow of mana, therefore disallowing the use of mana consuming techniques.

The Dark Bandit pulled out his dagger, whispering, "Savage Blow."

Jonas' eyes widened before he was stabbed six times, in a circle. The Captain fell to his knees, blood dripping from his chest.

"Not dead yet?" he smiled. "I'll make sure you die."

He reached back for another blow before his hand was transfixed by a Steely.

Gordon and Ronox rushed to their Captain, Ronox holding his Half-moon at the Dark Bandit's neck.

The Dark Bandit laughed. "You can't take all of us down."

Gordon turned to the four Dark Warriors lumbering towards them.

"No," he said, "not them. One more."

Gordon then noticed another black cloaked figure seemingly _gliding_ towards them.

The Dark Bandit smiled at Gordon's dismayed look. "Yes, that bloke."

"Oh sh…"

* * *

Meanwhile, Kane and company were making their way to Sixtopia Station, Opal and Amy bickering, as usual.

This time, David did not bother to listen to their argument, allowing Ankou to catch up with him.

"How's everything?"

"Going fine. No danger." Ankou replied, eyes still wandering.

"What about that group of four following us?"

"They dropped back quite a while ago. Wonder why they were following us."

"Yeah, I wonder."

Ankou looked at Kane. "What's with him? So quiet."

David sighed. "You don't need to know, Captain. He's been like that. He'll get better."

"I hope so. We need people who are much more alive."

"Hm."

Amy suddenly dropped back behind. "How long till we reach, dad?"

"Not too sure. Very soon though. Be patient."

Amy grinned at Opal. "See? I told you so."

David rolled his eyes.

* * *

The Dark Bandit smiled at Gordon's dismayed look. "Yes, that bloke."

"Oh sh…"

"Gordon! Ronox! Get out of here now!" Captain Zone rasped, hand clutching his chest, trying to hold in the blood.

"Not without you, Captain," Ronox said, dagger raised. "Bring it on. Expect no mercy."

Gordon put his hand on Ronox's shoulder. "Not so fast, Ron. I know these necromancers. You can't kill them."

"It's our Captain at stake here, Mike," Ronox replied.

"I know. But these necromancers are special. They can only be killed by people who have seen them murder."

Ronox raised an eyebrow.

The Dark Bandit quickly dashed away, too fast for Ronox to catch up. The moment he noticed that there was a black cloth covering the neck in front of his Half-moon, the Dark Bandit had disappeared, the necromancer taking his place.

Quick as lighting, the necromancer shouted, "Iris' Wrath!"

A sudden gale blew in from all directions, sharp winds cutting at everyone. Ronox and Gordon helped to block the blows from their injured teammates.

"Protect Jericho." Ronox whispered to Gordon, running to the Dark Warriors. Gordon held Captain Zone while running to Jericho, putting both down at their tent.

The Wind Necromancer shouted, "Razor!" causing a sharp wind to blow towards the trio.

At that moment, a Dark Warrior _flew_ in front of the winds, wounds quickly appearing on multiple areas of his body.

Ronox jumped out from behind the body to hold the Necromancer at the neck. His hands closed around the Dark Mage's throat…

…before said Dark Mage disappeared.

Ronox whirled around to find the Wind Necromancer aiming his staff at the tent, chanting in an unknown language.

"Gordon!" Ronox shouted, running towards the Necromancer.

But it was too late.

The spell flew towards the tent, about to strike…

…when Jonas, apparently still not too injured, ran in front of the cutting winds, Doombringer in hand. He blocked the winds with his sword, before a sharp one hit him. The Captain dropped his sword from the impact, causing the remaining winds to strike him head-on.

"Captain!" Gordon screamed, grabbing him and pulling him into the tent, guarding its entrance. "Back off, Ordinatio Hepta!"

"So we have an ex-Necroite here," The Necromancer smiled. "Gordon Michaels? You are quite familiar with Ordinatio ranks, aren't you?"

"Don't forget that I nearly killed Ordinatio Tre."

"He of Fire is a weakling. I'm not surprised if our ritual failed because of him."

"I watched Ordinatio Tre absorb a soul. I can kill necromancers like you now." Gordon cautioned him, waving his claw.

"Even if you have gained the Witness' Retaliation, you can't kill me. I'm simply too powerful." The Wind Necromancer said, aiming his staff. He closed an eye, seemingly trying to aim for a certain spot.

Ronox noticed that. "Mike, run!"

But it was too late.

"Razor!"

A wind of hurricane proportions, condensed into a single blow, flew towards Gordon.

"Dark Will!"

The Razor hit Gordon…

…and struck the Wind Necromancer head-on, causing him to fly a considerable distance.

Gordon stopped glowing black, eyes aflame with determination.

"You want some more of that, Ordinatio Hepta?"

But the Necromancer had disappeared, taking the remaining Dark Warriors with him. A faint blue glow remained for a split second at the necromancer's original position.

Gordon turned to find Ronox, staring at him as if a Zakum was behind him.

"You okay, dude?"

Ronox shook his head.

"Just what the hell did you do?"

* * *

"Strange. They seem to be stuck at some location."

"You sure? Maybe they were just resting?"

"I know both Ronox and Jonas. They are just too enthusiastic to rest."

"Ambush?"

"Although I believe they can hold their own, I seriously hope that it's not an ambush. Gordon's still a Recruit, mourner."

"I said stop the mourn thing, Jason."

"Yes, Crux sir."

* * *

A black figure ran, crouched, across the forests of Ellinia. It dashed, tree after tree, forever hiding in the shadows. Until this certain location.

Sixtopia Station.

Famed for being the first, and only, station between the continents of Victoria Island and Ossyria, Sixtopia Station has a history going back before the Four Wise Men came to rule Victoria Island.

But that was not what said figure came for.

Ronox ran to a side of the ticketing booth, not daring to breathe.

He dashed to a corner, where he pulled out a familiar device.

"_Mike, you there?"_

"_As always, Ron."_

"_Alright, take care of the others. I'm going on board."_

"_You sure it's that ship?"_

"_What does it matter? I'll still be around them, and they still won't see me."_

"_Fine."_

Ronox kept the device. _How to get in…,_ he thought to himself.

He then noticed Captain Socrates of _EagleEye _walk in, with a group of teenagers. They walked into the ship, a countdown of 1 minute starting before the ship took off.

_Oh god, how to get in…_

Ronox then noticed the hull of the ship, a few meters away. For some reason, there were a few rungs on it.

_Perfect._

* * *

"We're on board!" Amy smiled.

"Yeah, yeah, now we have to wait quite a while," Kane answered. "This _is_ time-consuming. Don't they have the technology to design faster ships?"

"You heard of scenery? Lots of people come to Sixtopia Station to get the best view ever on Bera. You should join them."

"We don't have time for this. You know that."

"Kane." Opal started. "Can you stop acting like everyone else is the fault you can't lay your hands on the necromancers for once? You're not the only person who is eager for that."

"It's my father, Opal. Dad. He died right in front of me. Those idiots killed him. You won't understand."

"My family died right in front of me. I'm sure you didn't have both your parents and a couple of siblings die too, right?"

"Shut. Up. Both of you. The five of us are going to have to go through quite a lot together if the necromancers prove hard to kill, so we need us to work together instead of having a sympathy competition." David cut in.

Both of them shut up.

Kane broke the silence.

"I…I'm sorry. I was too obsessed with…"

"Never mind. Sorry for comparing your plight with mine."

"Nah, it's all right."

David rolled his eyes again, for the second time in as many minutes.

* * *

From the hull, Ronox climbed, agile as ever, onto a beam. He used the beam to swing himself onto a certain unknown structure – Ronox never liked architecture much – and used the portal within to teleport himself into the crowd of people in the cabin.

From there, he could see Captain Socrates. Thankfully, the Captain could not see him, not yet.

Ronox hid himself behind some crates at a corner of the tight cabin. He was safe. Or not.

For at that exact moment, Ronox remembered about this Jay he had met in Henesys. He was requesting people to find these three books; one of them would be hidden aboard the ship heading for Orbis. In a crate.

Dozens of adventurers ran for the crate, eager to be the person to lay his or her hands on the book.

"Oh, crap." Ronox ran from the crowd, dashing out of the cabin.

He reached where he knew the portal back under the ship would be. He ran in, making sure the team he was supposed to protect had not seen him.

"At least they look safe here," he said to himself.

As soon as Ronox teleported to his destination, he knew how wrong he was.

Another smaller ship, made totally of bone and hide, was flying towards their ship.

Two hulking humanoid figures, with wings, could be seen, with a helmet made from another's skull on their head and as a shoulder plate.

* * *

"Really, Kane, you should go out for some fresh air. It works."

"No thanks, David," came the reply. "We need as much rest as possible."

"Whatever." Opal muttered. "I'm going out. I need some fresh air. Anyone following?"

"I'm going," Amy said. "I'm not going to sit here the whole trip."

"Me too," David said. "If Kane is going, that is."

Kane sighed. "Fine, fine."

Moments later, the four of them, followed by a close-to-paranoid Ankou, were watching the clouds pass by as the ship flew.

Inevitably, Ankou noticed something else.

"Hey, there's another ship there."

All four turned their heads, noticing a nearing ship. Just then, everyone noticed something else.

The ship's frame was made of bones, the sail constructed with various creatures' hide.

"Crimson Balrogs. The ultimate cross between Wind, Lighting and Darkness." David gasped.

Crimson Balrogs were created when a necromancer saw fit to give a Balrog an additional touch of Wind, causing it to sprout wings and adding to its magical power.

"_Pirate attack, I repeat, pirate attack. Will all passengers please make your way to the cabin immediately. Your safety is ensured within."_

"Oh, crap."

"Don't let the 'Rogs alight. Give the ship what we've got. Attack!" A voice, probably belonging to one who had never witnessed the damage and destruction a Crimson Balrog could do, rose from among the crowd.

However, the majority decided to retreat to the cabin, Ankou and company included.

Just as Opal was about to run into the cabin, a gigantic hand slammed in front of the entrance, blocking the remaining five. One could see the remains of a singular person behind the Balrog, blood covering the floor surrounding the remains.

A Crimson Balrog, hands and mouth stained with blood and gore, roared, landing in front of the cabin. Its attention was immediately on the five seemingly puny humans standing in front of it, the nearest one radiating a sort of magic it couldn't understand yet feared. Something directly opposing his magic.

Opal Nightingale pulled back her right hand, a white glowing bow forming in front of her.

"Holy Arrow!"

A beam of light, its white matching the bow in Opal's hands, shot towards the Balrog's foot.

The arrow pierced the demon's skin; however had no effect on its movement.

The Balrog roared. Suddenly, the sky grew dark, and lighting flashed across, a black one zapping Opal.

Nearly.

With a shout of, "Invincible!" Opal cast a shield around herself. As if that was not enough, she casted an additional round of Magic Guard and Magic Armor, causing a multicolored bubble around her body.

The lighting struck the shield, and _bounced back into the Balrog._

"Whoa there," Ankou was stunned. "How did you…"

"Explanations later. Survival for now." Opal replied, jumping back. "Hold the front. I buff. You kill."

Everyone nodded. Now was not the time for formulating strategies.

"Soul Arrow! Double Shot!" Both David and Amy shouted simultaneously, arrows and bolts flying at the Balrog. Of course, all of them had no effect on the mighty demon of Wind and Lighting.

And it was about to get a lot more worse, because at that exact moment Ankou noticed a black cloaked figure standing in the pirate ship, a smirk visible from underneath that black hood.

"Gaia's Wrath."

A huge piece of rock suddenly formed above the five, breaking up and crashing in various locations, a big piece finding its way on to the cabin, where it smashed through, killing several people.

"I hate these necromancers," Kane said to himself, jumping off a block heading towards him. "Dagger Booster!"

Kane stabbed his dagger into a piece of rock, pulling it out and stabbing into another one higher up, pulling himself up.

Opal could tell what Kane was about to do. "Don't! He'll kill you!"

"Then so be it!"

Opal cursed under her breath.

Ankou noticed Kane too. He followed the Bandit, jumping lithely from one rock to another.

Just then, he noticed the Earth Necromancer wave a hand, the rocks disappeared, and both Ankou and Kane found themselves falling.

"Damn."

* * *

Author's Note: Alright? I spent quite a long time on this…sorry…I have homework, you see. As if holidays are for working harder.

When I wrote the first Author's Note, it was 13th June. Today, it is 21st June. Hm.

Holiday's ending, so bye, have to complete my homework.


	9. Assault II

Sorry for being so long, homework's catching up, you see. Already preparing for end-of-year exams. Zzz.

The last two are introduced! Necromancers, that is.

BTW, I will not be as fast as I used to be. As I said, homework and projects catching up. Exams, too.

BTWBTW, I might be writing another oneshot. But this time, it's based on Runescape.

* * *

"You do know the deep crap we are in, do you?" David called out, to no one in particular.

"You don't have to tell me." Amy called back, again just for the sake of talking.

The exact severity of David's 'deep crap' was a Crimson Balrog or two attempting to attack the flying ship David and company were on, with a necromancer leading them.

Actually, the 'deep crap' was much more serious. All because Kane had attempted to kill the Earth Necromancer, with Ankou following him, and now both were falling off the ship.

Ankou managed to, luckily, grab a beam that was for some reason extending from the ship. Kane, however, had fallen down too much.

Or not.

In a move of total desperation, the Bandit dropped his Wristguard, jumping on it to cling on to some rungs on the hull. He slowly climbed his way up, teleporting into the ruined cabin.

Meanwhile, David was making use of Amy's distracting the Balrog to sneak into the cabin, where he hoped to be able to score a headshot at the back.

To his misfortune, the Balrog decided there and then to call its fellow demon down, letting it guard its rear. The second Balrog, immediately after flying down, noticed the Crossbowman cocking his _Auto_.

Its claws went smashing into David's hands before he could shoot…

…or almost went smashing.

Opal had dashed into the path of the razor-sharp nails, using her support techniques to protect herself. Amazingly, the claws never even reached Opal's robes, struggling against the magical barrier of holy magic.

"Take that, demon."

Opal _charged_ at the great hulking Balrog, maintaining her shield of techniques.

David swung his crossbow up, squeezing off a few shots.

The bolts struck the Balrog, and _shone _with a white light.

They then exploded, without a sound, effectively blinding the demon.

Anyone left alive after the Balrog attack was utterly amazed.

_How did a second-jobber do that…?_

"Spirit of Apollo, lend me thy power!"

David's crossbow shone wit the same white glow, along with his left hand.

"Divinus Ira!"

The bolts sticking out of the Balrog's body exploded once again in white light, this time connecting into a sphere and closing onto the demon, to the sound of screams and roars from the great Crimson Balrog.

"Spirit of Iris, halt thy enemies!"

A grey glow mixed with the white, causing a swirl of different shades.

"Laser!"

A beam of light shot from David's crossbow, striking and _passing through_ the Balrog's chest.

The demon collapsed into a mass of dark energy.

The glowing in David's left hand stopped and the Crossbowman dropped his _Auto_, before collapsing too.

"David!" Opal shouted, running to her fallen comrade.

"How's he?" Amy shouted from behind the last Balrog.

After a quick check, Opal replied. "Not too bad, although he'll be unconscious for quite awhile."

"Okay," Amy muttered, a communicator of BeraCross in her hands. "Dad, help me."

* * *

Ankou used his Metus to pull himself up, before running straight for the Balrog that threatened the life of his daughter.

"Amy!"

Ankou fitted a few steel-tipped arrows to his bow, letting them fly all at once.

"Strafe!"

The arrows started glowing as it left the Metus, striking the Balrog in its limbs.

That was for immobilization.

In retaliation, the Crimson Balrog roared, black lighting striking Ankou.

Or _almost _striking.

In the nick of time, the Captain whispered, "Focus."

An eagle eye, glowing blue, appeared on Ankou's head, much like a halo, and he _dodged _the lighting, and the strikes that followed it.

"Gaia's Wrath!"

A few rocks came crashing on Ankou; where he dodged to the left…

…to find out that the Earth Necromancer, back in the fray, had cast _two_ techniques, another Gaia's Wrath striking Ankou, jagged ends cutting deep into him.

The Captain of _EagleEye_ bore the pain that burned into every inch of his body, running as fast as he could towards Amy.

_Balrog and the necromancer. Not good._

Just as the demon stretched out a claw at Amy, a straw figure blocked it, causing the Balrog to stab into the figure and actually _blunting _its claws.

"Thanks, Initiate." Ankou smiled at Opal, whose wand was still glowing blue from the support technique she had cast on Ankou's Puppet.

"No problem, Captain."

The Balrog roared, directing another flash of black lighting at Ankou.

Ankou side-stepped, while shooting off another four arrows.

This time, the arrows were aimed for the head, two blinding the Balrog while the other two struck under its chin.

The second demon collapsed into a mass of black energy too.

"Now's left with the psycho!" Ankou called out, swinging his bow to take aim at the pirate ship, or, more specifically, the black cloaked figure on the ship.

"Try all you want, fool." The psycho in question retorted. "You can never kill me."

Ankou let fly with his arrow, which grazed the necromancer's arm, blood flowing freeing from the wound.

Beneath the hood, the figure's eyes widened. "The Witness's Retaliation…"

"Whatever you people call it, it simply means: I can kill you. So say your last words, dude."

And with that, Ankou aimed his Metus upwards, shouting, "Inferno! Arrow Rain!"

"Demeter's Wrath!"

A sudden flood of multi-colored liquids rose into the air, dissolving all the arrows falling from above.

A _second _cloaked figure appeared behind the first.

"We meet again, _Socrates."_

Ankou smiled. "How's your arm?"

The Poison Necromancer smiled back. "Perfectly fine. All thanks to these two."

The necromancer stood aside to reveal two more similar figures.

"I'm sure you don't recognize these two. Let's have a little demonstration." The Dark Mage of Poison grinned. "Ordinatio Uni!"

The one on the left stood out. "Hades' Wrath!"

Darkness encompassed the two ships. It was a peculiar kind of darkness, not only blinding one but blocking up all senses.

Suddenly, the darkness disappeared, and the necromancer stepped back smartly.

The next necromancer took a step forward.

"Ordinatio Oct, come to destroy." The Necromancer smiled. "Apollo's Wrath!"

There was a flash, and anyone around the area was immediately blinded. The light was so strong that anyone conscious immediately reeled back, as if hit physically.

Ankou stood his ground, and raised his bow.

"Soul Arrow! Strafe!"

Four glowing arrows flew towards the necromancers, each targeted at a necromancer.

"Decoy!"

Three cloaked figures rose in front of every necromancer except for him of Poison.

Each figure took the blow of the arrows, while the Poison Necromancer let the arrow strike his chest.

The Poison Necromancer then disappeared in a puff of green smoke, as the other three decoys did.

"Haven't you learnt anything from our last encounter?" A voice laughed from behind Ankou.

The Captain whirled around to face a gloved hand, glowing green.

"Ater Virus!"

Purple liquid gathered at the Poison Necromancer's hand, traces of grayish-green swirling in the ball of liquid.

"Say goodbye, Captain. Soon there won't be enough of you to…"

"Savage Blow!"

The ball of purple liquid dissipated, and the Dark Mage of Poison coughed up a little blood.

Kane pulled out his _Cross_ from the necromancer's back, blood dripping from its blade.

"That's what happens when you injure my superior, fool."

Immediately after that, a cloaked figure appeared next to the Poison Necromancer, whispering, "Heal."

The necromancer's wounds glowed a lime green, before disappearing altogether.

"That's what happens when you injure my teammate, fool."

The newly-arrived necromancer then made a motion as if pulling a bow, and said, "Elemental Composition – Light and Dark."

Two spheres of black and white energy gathered into a bow and arrow, forming in the Light Necromancer's hands.

It was point-blank range.

He couldn't miss.

"Bless!"

A bubble formed around Kane, absorbing the arrow. Or half of it.

Half of the arrow, the glowing black portion, made it through the arrow and hit Kane square in the chest.

Opal quickly jumped into the fray, dragging Kane out.

Ankou made as if to run away from the necromancers, before turning back and shooting an Arrow Rain.

Amy rushed to Opal, while making sure David was still lying in the cabin.

Amazingly, Kane wasn't too injured.

'I can still fight," he was insisting. "It's the world at stake now. Just behead him and the problem's over."

"Not so simple, friend." Opal retorted. "You'd better rest first. I daresay they will assassinate us another day."

"If they need another day."

"True, true."

Using the short conversation to distract Opal, Kane ran towards the necromancers, _Cross_ dagger in hand.

"Dagger Booster! Savage Blow!"

Kane struck the Darkness Necromancer in the limbs, before stabbing at the chest. Not a single person had time to react before the Bandit appeared in front of the necromancer, along with six stab wounds on the Dark Mage.

Just as the Light Necromancer was about to heal his teammate, Kane whirled, stopping as his _Cross_ scratched the Darkness/Light mage.

"Savage Blow!"

Once again, the dagger tore through the necromancer's cloak, and blood flowed freely from his limbs.

"Retreat!" the Poison Necromancer shouted, drawing his wand. The Earth Necromancer followed suit, dragging the other two injured as they teleported away.

"Hey! Come back here! The fight's not finished yet!" Kane shouted.

"Enough, Anderson." Ankou put a hand on Kane's shoulder. "Safety for oneself first. How's your wound?"

It was then that Kane remembered he was impaled by an arrow made of Darkness and mana. He looked down to see that aside from the cloth being slightly charred, _he had not been injured. _Not even a fading scar that would usually accompany with a healing.

"How the hell?" Kane muttered, brushing his clothes.

As his senses came back to him, Kane realized that there was _no way_ he could have driven off four all-powerful necromancers by himself.

He looked down at his _Cross,_ its three blades glowing white. The glow quickly faded away.

He turned to face Opal, who was quickly hiding her wand. He caught a glimpse of white light just as she covered the wand.

"I thought you said they would come another day?" Kane raised an eyebrow.

"Well, no one in their right mind would stop you, so I just made stopping you harder." Opal replied. ""And anyway, I can't just see you get killed without doing anything."

"I see." Kane then smiled. "Thanks."

Opal smiled back. "No problem. Just don't go rushing into some homicidal mages again." The Cleric then seemed to think back. "Or you could just call me when you do."

* * *

Jericho opened his eyes. He was somewhere in some forests. Elinia, maybe. With a stinging pain in his back.

The Corporal looked around, to see the same thick vegetation and tall trees. _These trees could hide a person, _he thought to himself. _Perfect for an ambush…the ambush!_

Jericho quickly sat up. His spear was at his side, and his armor was still on him.

It was only then that Jericho noticed his Captain lying next to him.

He was about to awaken Jonas when a voice came, "Don't wake him. He needs rest, especially now."

Jericho turned around to find Gordon Michaels twirling a Steely, a hand raised.

"Gordon. Where are we?"

"In due time, Jerry. Just rest for now. Rectify needs time to work for those not so much into the dark arts."

"Yeah…" Jericho then thought of something else. "Wait. Dark arts. You can use Darkness?"

Gordon smiled. "Surprising, I know, but then the Council doesn't know. And anyway, I won't be affected by it."

"And where's Ronox?"

"Ron decided to continue our mission while you two rest here. He's probably in Ossyria now."

"I see."

"I hoped as much. You eyes are still fine, I take it?"

"Oh, very funny."

"Of course."

Jericho was thinking about something. One could tell from his expression. "Ron's in Ossyria guarding the five?"

"Yeah."

The Spearman looked up. "We have to help him."

"The problem is, how about the Captain? He can't move in this state."

Jericho smiled. "Oh, he'll be fine. You'll see."

* * *

A few minutes later, Jericho and Gordon were on the way to Sixtopia Station, with 160,000 mesos from Jonas' pocket. They had used Jonas' communicator to send a distress signal, and left him in the forests, but not before camouflaging him. _ShadowSight_ had better find him fast.

* * *

"Captain Zone seems to be in some sort of trouble." Captain Aziz from _ArcaneSword_ stated, checking his monitors. The Knight was different from the other Warriors of the present day, preferring to spend his time with technology than his mace.

"Hm. No harm checking. Colonel Tora Diablo, dispatch your Bandits. The coordinates will be sent very soon." Colonel Crux spoke. Tora nodded, quickly muttering orders into his communicator.

"Do you think anything could have happened to Captain Zone's team?" Colonel Rain spoke up.

"Perhaps. But I trained Jonas myself. I know his strength, and believe me; behind the slightly hot temper is a formidable opponent. Whatever took down the Captain has to be very powerful."

"Sir, Captain Socrates and his team has alighted at Ossyria."

"Good." Colonel Rain smiled. He then turned to his communicator. "Captain Darwin. Please make your way to the Council Hall immediately. The Council has a mission for you."

* * *

Okay, that's done. Now, something about the necromancers to clear some minds:

1. Uni: Darkness

2. Duo: Ice

3. Tre: Fire

4. Quadri: Lighting

5. Quinque: Poison

6. Hex: Earth

7. Hepta: Wind

8. Oct: Light


	10. Elemental Rings

Can't think of anything to write, so I'm writing this. A little insight on David's reason for joining Beracross. I do realize he is becoming more of a main character than Kane, yes. You'll see why. …if I manage to finish Prologue, that is.

* * *

"David!" Amy shook her academy mate by he shoulders, trying to wake him up.

"He most probably exerted himself too much. Let him rest for awhile." Opal cut in, attempting to pull Amy away.

Suddenly, most unexpectedly, David groaned, sitting up.

Amy rushed over to him. "David! You okay?"

David flexed his arms, and then put a hand against his head. "A little dizzy…"

"It's normal." Opal replied. "Rest for now. We'll continue to the Necrons' headquarters later."

Thoughts came rushing into David's mind. _Crimson Balrogs. The ship. Divinus Ira…_

David looked at the two rings on his fingers, one holding an emerald while the other had a diamond.

_The rings of Wind and Light…_

_

* * *

_

Ten months previously.

David walked towards the flat, looking up.

At this distance, the building looked like a great skyscraper, reaching up to the skies. Of course, this area was still under construction, as most of Kerning City is. However, some apartments had already been rented out.

David remembered his mother's words, to forgive Father. Deep down inside his heart, he knew that Father was not responsible for Mother's death. He had run out of mana, therefore could not protect Mother from that strike. Even so, the necromancer would have been too powerful.

David went up the stairs, stopping at a particular door.

He knocked on the door, tensing himself for the answer.

"Yes? Please come in."

David's eyes widened. "Dad…"

A slim and tall person, in a Blue Varuna, opened the door a slight bit. He took a look through the gap, and gasped.

"David?"

* * *

A minute later, the two were seated around a coffee table, David's father trying to take in the fact that his son had visited him, without murder in his eyes, for once.

"David. Why did you come?"

"Dad, you're my dad after all. Who else am I to go to?"

David's father smiled. "So you've forgiven me."

David looked down.

"It wasn't fair of me to blame you. No one could have prevented Mum's death."

David's father shuffled uncomfortably.

"Ah, yes, Sheila. She had something to give you, I hear."

David showed his left fourth finger, revealing a silver ring. An emerald was encrusted in it.

"The Ring of Wind. Mum gave this to me. I didn't know she had such a ring."

David's father smiled fondly.

"That ring. I gave it to Sheila during our wedding." He then sighed, deeply. "David. There's something else your mother wanted to give to you." He handed his son a gold disc, eight holes drilled into the edges. Each one had a label, stating one element out of the eight which consists of Bera and its occupants.

"Your mother was one of those famed treasure hunters, the Antiquus." David's father started. "I was too. In fact, it was there that we met and fell in love. If it wasn't for our mutual interest in archaeology, I guess we wouldn't have met.'

'One day, as we were searching for the remains of some Sharenian artifacts, we found some discs, the exact same ones as the one you see now. There were four of them at the excavation site.'

'Suddenly, the leader of our expedition, Sir Vendo Geminus, grabbed his wand and turned upon us. You see, some of us had did some research. We found that the discs could make a person invulnerable to any form of damage, once a person manages to activate it.'

'The discs' method of activation, if the Sharenian legends were to be trusted, was to attach the gems on the eight elemental rings to the disc. Apparently, Sir Vendo had already found the Ring of Poison. Each ring granted certain abilities by itself, even without the disc.'

'Sir Vendo managed to kill off most of the expedition members. The only people left were Sheila, Vendo, I and two other Rogues. The Rogues were quickly hunted down, until Sheila managed to subdue Vendo. I managed to help, as, unknown to Vendo; I had the Ring of Wind and Light.'

'However, Vendo had managed to run away, and Sheila and I were the sole survivors. We kept this matter a secret to others, and pretended a landslide had taken the members of the Antiquus. No one ever suspected anything was wrong."

David's dad paused to let David absorb everything. Finally, David started talking.

"So, that's how you and Mum came across this ring and disc? And what happened to the Ring of Light?"

"The Ring was hidden." David's father replied. "I won't give you the exact location, but it's somewhere in the Ant Tunnel. By the way, the Ring of Light lets you regenerate faster, as well as damage the undead and the dark well. That should help you on the return trip."

"Ant Tunnel…okay…" David muttered.

"And, I received information that the Ring of Ice was hidden by a guild. Within their headquarters. A most renowned guild against necromancy."

"Which guild, dad?" David asked eagerly.

"Beracross."

_

* * *

_

Present.

"Sixtopia Station. You think they're at Ossyria now?" Gordon asked his teammate.

"Most probably. Hopefully not the last ship though." Jericho replied.

"Why not?"

"Well, first things first, look there."

"The clock?"

"No, the backup ship. Not using the usual flying ship only means that the ship is unavailable. I think I know why."

"So what do we do, Jerry?"

"We take the backup ship, and wait at Orbis. I won't believe Captain Socrates will kick off so soon."

"You never know. They might need help."

Jericho sighed. "In that case, Gordon, we try to look for the remains of the ship while flying. Good enough?"

Gordon nodded furiously.

"Good. Now, would you have any spare mesos? Eighty K is quite a lot."

* * *

In reality, the status board had been modified by Captain Aziz to make it seem like the previous ship hadn't made it, to make the necromancers think that the team had perished. They won't be deceived for long, though.

"You called for me, sir?" Captain Darwin of _Divinelight_ bowed his head.

"Yes, Captain." Colonel Rain answered. "As I said previously, I have a mission waiting for you. In fact, for quite a lot of people. But you will lead. I trust you, and Harrison does too."

"Let me speak for myself." Colonel Forte stepped into the Council Hall, smiling. "I've been working with Paul for so many years, I should know. He's the best Priest I've ever seen."

Jason Rain smiled back. "Indeed. Captain, your task is to find Corporal Ronox Neo, Corporal Jericho Lawson and Recruit Gordon Michaels. If possible, you are to protect Captain Socrates' team, with the other three. Following you will be Captains Eliza Tzu and Conrad West. There will also be a squad of Initiates under your command. Is that clear?"

"Yes, sir." Captain Darwin saluted, before asking, "I believe Captain West's a much better leader than me. Why not him?"

"You will know in due time. For now, just follow orders."

"Yes, sir." Captain Darwin left the hall.

Colonel Forte looked at Jason. "Although I do not doubt Paul's leadership, why not Conrad? Conrad's a good Assassin, simply put."

Colonel Rain smiled. "As I said, you will know in due time, fellow Colonel. For now, just watch."

* * *

Ronox ran out of the shadows, quickly hiding behind a convenient pillar by the road. The team was camped at the roof of Orbis Tower. It was a bodyguard's nightmare. A three-way road, in the open.

Suddenly, Ronox's communicator vibrated, a message flashing on its screen. Not a sound was heard. Seemed like Jericho knew he was hiding.

The message read:

_Ronox,_

_Has the team arrived safely in Orbis? The status board in Sixtopia Station shows that the last ship crashed and burned. If safe, please reply. If not, wrong number._

_Jericho._

Seems like the Intel Division of Beracross was doing their job well. Ronox had guessed quite a fair time ago they might have done this.

From what he could see, the extremely over-powered crossbowman had woken up. The Bandit was pacing about, seemingly planning something. Captain Socrates was, as usual, guarding the small area.

Just as Ronox turned back to his communicator, he noticed a red light flashing near the screen. Usually, this only happened just before the communicator started beeping…

The communicator started going bananas, and Captain Socrates whirled around to find Ronox stepping out behind a tree, arms up, international body language for "hey I'm not carrying a huge murderous weapon to use against you".

"I'm here. That was a smart move, Captain."

"What are you doing here, Corporal Neo?"

"I shouldn't be revealing this, but it's too late anyway."

"Shoot ahead, Corporal."

"Well…" Ronox started to give the condensed version of how Beracross sent him to make sure Captain Socrates' team was safe. He skipped the portions concerning Jericho, Gordon, and Jonas, just in case they managed to catch up.

"Colonel Rain sure is cunning. He must have thought we would have lowered our guard if we had known you were following. But why only you?"

Ronox thought through this question carefully.

"I guess the Colonel must have overlooked that."

"Hm." Ankou droned, unconvinced. "Perhaps."

Suddenly, a black arrow sped past Ankou's ear, burying itself deeply into the ground. As expected from all things glowing black, the stone pavement started cracking up, and the moss and grass beneath rotted.

Ankou looked up, to find three figures. Two were holding bows and the last was a familiar cloaked and hooded figure. All stood on the various broken pillars.

Ronox noticed them too.

"So much for resting. And I thought I could take a break from watching you blokes."

* * *

Of course, there were more than two Dark Archers and a necromancer. However, majority of the army had been held off by Captain Darwin and his team. Although they could not harm the Dark Mages, they could pick off the archers.

"Shining Ray!" Dark Archers fell, took down by the blasts of holy magic. It seemed like Paul could take the whole battalion by himself.

Eliza Tzu was picking off the Archers as they attempted to pick her off. No chance. The Dark Archers, that is.

Eliza Tzu was the younger sister of famous Colonel Zach Tzu from _Frozenarrow,_ and indeed she had the same genes as her older bro that made the Colonel a famous figure. The genes were slightly diluted, though, and Eliza found herself barely a Captain.

One could hear the voice of Captain Darwin loud and clear, with shouts of, "Hold them off! Hold them off!" The Captain need not have shouted anyway. He was clearly doing most of the work, killing off all the Dark Archers.

As the Captain attempted genocide on the Archers, quite successfully, Eliza was catching up. Her skills with the crossbow could not be stated as unparalleled, but it was good enough against the Archers.

Captain Conrad West of _Swiftstrike_ was also playing his part, shooting stars out at an unbelievable rate. No Dark element user in the vicinity could stand up against him. Whatever he could not strike down with a Steely, he struck down with a Light Transmutation. Sometimes a Light-infused Steely.

As for the Initiates, they were only there to bask in the glory, and perhaps gain a rank if they managed to help and the Captains noticed. Perhaps. However, a few of the less insane Dark Archers had noticed the slightly under-trained Initiates, and proceeded to place them a little higher on the 'endangered individuals' list.

As the two battalions waged war, no one noticed three figures quietly escaping. No one noticed as the figures drew two bows and a wand respectively, dashing into the shadows of Ossyria.

* * *

"Corporal! Run!" Ankou grabbed Ronox, throwing him with considerable force. Ronox flew just in time for an Iris' Wrath to strike Ankou. The Captain flew too, but with a considerably larger number of injuries. Possibly fatal, too.

With the current chaos, the Dark Archers started shooting, arrows filling up the cloudy sky.

"Opal!" Kane shouted. It was clear what his strategy was. The only one which worked against necromancers.

"Bless! Invincible! Magic Guard!" Multi-colored beams of light appeared around Opal, Kane, Ankou, Amy, Ronox and David. It was fortunate that there were not more than six of them. Support magic could only affect five others.

"Savage Blow!" Kane ran towards a Dark Archer, _Cross _out. He struck six times, in a circle. Ancient runes flashed in front of the Archer. With Opal's support techniques, the dagger ripped through the strongest of Darkness-infused armor. And practitioners of Darkness. The Archer never stood a chance.

As Kane fought, Amy reached for her quiver of arrows, pulling out a bronze-tipped one. She need not have worried about her aim; the Carbon Composite Bow almost did the aiming for her. There was a scope attached to the handle, for Lith's sake.

She loosed the arrow, which in turn flew at the necromancer. Ordinatio Hepta, or the Wind Necromancer, blasted the arrow, over-killing it with a Razor. The Wind and Darkness technique, not the weapon.

However, the arrow had the desired effect of drawing the Necromancer's attention, and Kane ran up to him, dagger in hand.

"Savage Blow!"

"Gaia's Wrath!"

Kane's _Cross_ connected with granite, which nearly worked as an efficient sandpaper on the sharp edge of the dagger. There were Opal's techniques, of course, which protected his dagger. Focusing all the Light magic Kane currently had in his mana reserves into his dagger probably helped too.

The remaining Archer threw off his wig and other disguises, revealing a wand. Everyone there then understood why the Archer had never fired an arrow.

"Opal, Opal. I wonder if you still remember me."

* * *

Cliffie! XD

BTW, I most probably will be releasing another oneshot for Absol Master's challenge, but that will be quite awhile. There's my Runescape fic, for example. Still working on the first chapter. Yes, it has become multi-chaptered.

And dear Chng Kiat, if you are reading this, please note that I still have examinations, homework, and have to wait for inspiration to come. Therefore do NOT rush me. I'm quite fast as I am now, I think.

At this rate, I think my story will continue to 60k words. I think. Lol.


	11. Showoff, Showdown

Alright, so this is Chapter 9, excluding the prologue and side story. And yes, the story's not going to be finished anytime soon. It IS long.

No other side notes, just enjoy.

* * *

The remaining Archer threw off his wig and other disguises, revealing a wand. Everyone there then understood why the Archer had never fired an arrow.

"Opal, Opal. I wonder if you still remember me."

Opal smiled tightly. "Who would forget someone who first killed off an innocent clan and then couldn't kill a baby?"

The Dark Mage of Earth, who was who the disguised Archer actually was, smiled back.

"You have changed, young Nightingale. The first time we met, you were just a toddler. I almost could not bear to kill you."

"If there was such a thing as mercy or sympathy among your kind." Opal shot back.

The Earth Necromancer ignored her. "In fact, I _could not_ kill you. Some strong elemental power in you. One of those dumb fairytales the people in the barracks keep chattering about."

"I hate to point this out, but I can safely infer from your speech that you were beaten by a fairytale."

Although this was meant to piss the necromancer off, he kept on smiling.

"You've a sharp tongue, young lady. A pity I have to kill you."

With that, he twirled his wand and aimed it at Opal.

"Gaia's Wrath!"

Opal casted several enchantments around herself, absorbing the mass of rocks thrown at her.

"You need more than that to scratch me, uncle."

"I've had enough of your attitude, young lady." The Wind Necromancer joined in. "Razor!"

The attacks flowed around Opal, the multicolored bubble of light still surrounding her.

"Savage Blow!"

With Opal's witty remarks, the necromancers had failed to notice Kane and Ronox, their daggers glowing in a white light.

The _Cross _of Kane and the Half-moon Zamardar of Ronox tore through the Wind Necromancer. He never stood a chance.

Actually, he did.

"Rectify."

The separate wounds quickly closed, but one in particular stayed. A white light shone in the wound.

"That's right." Opal said, upon seeing the necromancer stare at the leaking hole in his chest. "It's a slight bit of my magic. Only for usage against Darkness."

The necromancer's eyes widened.

"That means…"

"I _do _know how to convert my elemental mana into matter. It's quite simple to attach a little on the tip of Kane's _Cross_…"

Light mana in a necromancer. Especially with the fact that Opal could control a high amount of holy magic, she had the Witness' Retaliation, and Kane's dagger was specifically designed to combat Necrons. It would surely amount to certain death.

The Wind Necromancer knew that. He knew his own life was slipping away, their mission would end soon. In failure. He knew that could not happen. With his last breath, the great Necromancer had his Wind mana transferred to the Earth Necromancer. For the greater good of Necrons.

"Be well, my comrade. I will be back." The Wind Necromancer frowned. "And you will regret, young Opal."

With that parting line, Ordinatio Hepta dissipated into thin air, the black robes fading away.

* * *

He of Earth could not believe it. One of the eight great Necromancers, dead with a single strike from a second jobber. Then again, it was _two_ second jobbers with the Witness' Retaliation, but it was still embarrassing.

He started frowning at the row of mere second jobbers and an unconscious fourth jobber, quickly aiming his wand at Kane.

"Encase!"

Blocks of stone rose from the ground, surrounding Kane. There were six of them, forming a cube around the Bandit, which levitated.

The cube floated next to the Earth Necromancer.

"One move and the second jobber dies!" He shouted.

David slid his hand backwards, slowly, reaching for his _Auto_.

A spear of stone rose from the ground, dust falling off it. A small hole opened in the cube, which the spear flew in.

The necromancer closed his eyes for a brief moment, opening them again.

"I see your friend has managed to dodge the spear." He said matter-of-factly.

David mouthed a swear word at the necromancer, causing him to laugh.

"You Beracrossians and your weaklings. Find someone stronger to combat the eight great Necromancers."

Amy glanced around quickly, looking for a method to incapacitate the necromancer.

Opal stared at the necromancer, twirling her wand and keeping her supporting spells active.

David kept his hands on his crossbow, looking for an opportunity to release a bolt or two.

Ronox was keeping an eye on his Half-moon and another on the cube. Weighing the possibilities of it cutting through the cube.

Ankou was unconscious and resting in their tent.

The Earth Necromancer was smiling away, daring everyone to make a move.

David suddenly stood forward.

"You and me. One on one."

The necromancer rolled his eyes.

"Wonderful code of honor you have there. But I rather me against you all here and now."

With that, he brought his hands together, a bow of brown and grey forming.

"Elemental Composition – Earth and Wind!"

"Spirits of Apollo and Iris, lend me thy power! Laser!"

The two projectiles collided, the resulting explosion blinding everyone in the vicinity.

"Arrow Bomb!"

An arrow with a rounded tip, enchanted with Fire, flew towards the necromancer, blinding him momentarily and pushing him back a few meters.

Just before the stunning effect of the technique wore off, Amy followed up with a Double Shot, which disarmed the Dark Mage.

Ronox jumped onto the cube, attempting to break it with his dagger. Even Opal's support spells on his dagger could not help, though. The cube refused to crack.

"Amy! Here!" David suddenly shouted, aiming his _Auto_ at the necromancer.

Amy understood.

"Arrow Bomb!"

Another blunt arrow flew, this time above the necromancer.

David shot a bolt _at the arrow_, causing it to explode above the Dark Mage.

The combination had the desired effect of deafening the mage and leaving the area clear of smoke.

"Laser!"

A beam of light shot at the necromancer, burning a hole in his right shoulder.

"Rectify!"

The wound closed up, leaving charred cloth. One could tell that the technique could not fully heal such a serious wound though; the Earth Necromancer was having difficulty lifting his arm.

Ronox dashed from the cube to the necromancer, dagger at his neck.

"Stop!" The necromancer shouted.

Ronox left his dagger at his neck.

"You can't kill me yet." The necromancer smiled. "I'm the only one able to unlock the cube."

"Oh, I'm sure I can reverse such a simple technique." Opal shot back. "Enjoy your trip to Hell."

Amy put her hand on Opal's shoulder. "Not yet. I'm sure your Light mana is strong, but then who knows? It might be tougher than you think."

"It is." The necromancer continued. "You don't know how much mana I put into creating this one."

Ronox frowned. He wanted to silt his throat and take his chances with the cube, but that would be pure folly.

"See? I'm the only one who can reverse Encase." The Dark Mage smiled. "So why not let me go, and I might consider releasing your friend."

"You know, I think you're forgetting someone here." David said. He stepped forward, _Auto_ cocked.

"Double Shot! Divinus Ira!"

Two bolts stuck onto the cube, exploding in a white light. A crack appeared on the cube.

"Arrow Bomb!" Amy followed it up, almost widening the crack.

Almost.

However, the necromancer had already seen that coming.

With a swift movement of his injured arm, he elbowed Ronox on the stomach, before ducking, rolling, and casting a simple Magic Claw at David. He didn't need to aim; he could do these simple techniques in his sleep.

The attack threw David's aim off, causing his newest Laser to miss the cube completely.

At the same time, he used an Energy Bolt to hit Amy's _arrow_ in _mid-flight_, causing it to explode a safe distance away from the cube.

Opal frowned. This necromancer was going to take a lot more effort to kill.

* * *

Jericho and Gordon were about to board the ship when they heard their communicators vibrate simultaneously.

Both reached into their pockets, Jericho holding his communicator to his ear while Gordon flicked his up, catching it between his shoulder and ear.

"Yes, Captain Aziz?" Both said.

"Report back to base. Captain Socrates' team has accomplished its mission." The Knight replied.

Gordon had to be surprised.

"So soon?"

"Yes, that soon. They're quite efficient."

"I see. Thank you. We will be right back." With that, Jericho kept his communicator, pocketing his newly-bought ticket to Orbis as well.

"Looks like we'll have to save these for another day." He said.

"Not so." Gordon replied. "I just have this feeling. The battle's not over yet."

"If the people back at HQ say it's done, it's done." Jericho insisted. "Just follow orders."

"We haven't received anything from Ronox yet…"

"We don't need to." Jericho shot back. "Get back. That's an order!"

Gordon looked back. The ship had arrived.

"Whatever you say, Jerry, it's my choice. Good luck and good bye."

With that, he swung himself into the ship, passing his ticket to the usher on the way.

The ship took off, nearly before Jericho realized what had happened.

"Idiot…" Jericho muttered. "Now I'll have to do a report on him."

* * *

"You see," the Earth Necromancer smiled. "No one can harm me. Never. I am of the Ordinatio of Necrons. I am _the _elite."

"Just release Kane!" David shouted. "Break the cube or I will…"

"Will what exactly?" The necromancer retorted. "Die beside your friend?"

"I'm warning you." David replied. "You saw my Divinus Ira. I can kill you with a single shot."

"I think not. I know the effects of your Elemental Rings. When you utter a small prayer, immeasurable power of the element of your Ring will be granted to you. After a few techniques, the magic will wear off and you will fall unconscious."

"You seem to know a whole lot about the Rings."

The Earth Necromancer smiled. "Oh, there's a lot that I know. A lot to kill you."

With that, he raised his hands, a sword and shield made of stone materializing.

"We necromancers study the arts of all four classes. Forgot to tell you that."

The Earth Necromancer teleported to Amy's back, sword raised.

"Brandish!"

"Power Knockback!" Amy retaliated.

The sword of stone cut through Amy's bow, deflecting off her armor though.

Opal ran at the necromancer, wand glowing.

"I'm not finished casting the support spells yet." She smiled, before raising her wand.

"Holy Arrow!"

"Power Guard!"

The arrow deflected. However, it had no effect whatsoever on Opal.

"My offensive techniques are weak, dumbbell. You wasted your mana on a defense technique."

The necromancer responded by teleporting _upwards, _falling back down.

Opal, who had expected him to teleport behind her, had already turned back.

He of Earth used this millisecond to knock Amy and Ronox unconscious simultaneously with a Gaia's Wrath. Seeing as there was no end to Opal's support techniques, he had to render them unconscious first.

Just when Opal turned to face the necromancer, he had rolled away, before doing a Flash Jump to arrive next to David.

David, who had already seen what was coming, sent a Divinus Ira flying at the cube, finally breaking it, before falling unconscious. He hoped Kane could help to set things right.

However, what he did not foresee was the Earth Necromancer throwing a Thunder Spear at Kane immediately, causing him to fly a few meters and be rendered unconscious.

"That just leaves you and me." The Earth Necromancer smiled, sword raised at Opal. "What a simple job after all."

* * *

Meanwhile, Paul, Eliza, Conrad and the Initiates were easily picking off the Dark Archers. One could see row after row of bowmen falling, mostly struck by the Priest Paul Darwin. A few received well-aimed headshots from Eliza Tzu, the Captain doing her job well. Captain West was protecting the Initiates to the best of his ability. No matter what, personnel safety ranked highest on his list.

Soon, the Archers had retreated, the few Dark Mages following.

"Give chase!" Paul shouted. "Corner them! They must not escape until Captain Socrates arrives!"

The Initiates roared with great gusto, charging at the Archers.

Soon, the remaining Dark Archers had been killed, and all that was left was the two Dark Mages. From what one could see from their attacks, they had mastered Fire and Ice.

The Initiates and the three Captains never knew a third figure following them. Watching their every move. They never knew they were headed for one of the simplest of deceits.

* * *

"That just leaves you and me." The Earth Necromancer smiled, sword raised at Opal. "What a simple job after all."

"Not too simple." Opal said. "Teleport."

The Earth Necromancer turned around only to see that he'd been tricked, a second too late.

"I'm still here, simpleton." A voice whispered.

He turned back to get his face bashed in by a glowing gloved fist, which belonged to Opal.

The necromancer recovered quickly, and counterattacked with a quick slash.

Opal simply batted the sword away with a glowing arm, grabbing the shield and leapfrogging over it to kick at the necromancer's head.

As she fell, Opal raised her wand, casting a quick Magic Claw. The attack had the desired effect of pushing the necromancer's hand away from his stone sword, buying Opal more time.

The necromancer retaliated with a jump, before teleporting above Opal.

Opal looked up to hear a voice, which shouted, "Gaia's Wrath!"

A spiral-shaped rock fell, which nearly impaled Opal. Nearly.

Opal managed to cast an Invincible, blocking majority of the rock. It slid off the bubble of magic surrounding her, breaking to reveal the Earth Necromancer inside, who punched Opal with a stone-covered fist.

Despite the numerous enchantments Opal had cast on herself, the blow had sent her flying, and consequently slamming into a pillar behind her. The pillar broke, along with a few of Opal's ribs.

"Heal…" Opal muttered, feeling the green magic mending her bones, sealing her cuts.

The Earth Necromancer walked slowly towards her, grinning all the while.

"You see? Weaklings like you and your bunch of second-jobbers can never beat one of the great necromancers. Killing Ordinatio Hepta was pure luck on your side, pure luck."

"Don't be glad too soon." Opal forced a smile. "Others will get you. I'm not the only one with the Witness' Retaliation."

"Oh?" The Earth Necromancer raised an eyebrow in mockery. "Who else? Those sleeping idiots? Pardon me, but even the Rings cannot help them."

"The Rings cannot, but I will." A voice suddenly boomed from behind the necromancer.

He whirled back to stare into a glowing Steely. Glowing black.

"You like its color? I save Darkness Transmutation with Steelies for scum like you."

With that, Gordon Michaels _slammed_ the Steely into the necromancer's forehead, swinging his arm back for another two stars.

The Steely did not pierce the Earth Necromancer's forehead, instead causing a long scar across his entire face, running red and black. Blood and Dark mana.

"Darkness Transmutation! Lucky Seven!"

The two Steelies slammed into the necromancer with such force that despite its small size, the two stars _lifted_ the necromancer up and sent him flying out of the tower.

"Job done." Gordon muttered. He turned to face Opal. "Gordon Michaels. Recruit. Pleased to meet you."

"Opal Nightingale. Initiate. Pleased to meet you too. Thanks for saving my life, by the way."

"No problem. I was sent by the Council. And you're supposed to be back at HQ now. With the rest of the team, that is."

"Sure. Thing is, they're unconscious."

Gordon looked at one of the team, namely David, and cracked his knuckles.

"How much force does it take to whack these guys up conscious?"

* * *

Half an hour later, the team, with Ronox and Gordon, were waiting at HQ. Ankou, however, was resting in HQ's finest medical clinics.

Colonel Rain, Crux and Tzu came out of the Council Hall to greet them. Jericho was also among the crowd.

"Sorry for just now." Jericho said to Gordon. "Good thing you went back."

Gordon smiled.

"Alright, get in." Colonel Crux started. "Debriefing. Inside. Congratulations in advance, by the way. Mission accomplished. One necromancer down."

Kane knew he might be inviting trouble, but he said what was on his mind anyway.

"Could things have been that simple? Surely one of the greatest plans of Necrons cannot be thwarted so easily."

Jason Rain placed a hand on his shoulder. "Don't you worry. You dad has been avenged. Necrons cannot do a crap about their missing piece of the ritual."

Kane shrugged.

"Alright, alright, all inside. You guys can relax after the debriefing is officially done. Trust me."

Everyone followed Lugete Crux. Implicitly.

_

* * *

_

Cursed Sanctuary

From outside the lair of the Balrogs, one could see seven black figures, standing in a circle. All were hooded, gauntleted, and held elaborately-crafted wands.

"When's the master coming?" One spoke up. He twirled his wand, mist swirling around his hand. "This place is quite uncomfortable."

"Shut up," another replied, "We wouldn't have had to meet up in the first place if you haven't messed up with the intercom and sent false information that Hepta was doing well."

"It wasn't me who messed it up. The stupid Intel Division in Beracross did the ship thing."

"What is happening here?" A voice spoke up.

All turned to face a similarly cloaked man, hood covering his face. All kneeled down.

"Greetings, master." The nearest said. They all then stood up. "What brings us here today?"

"As if you didn't know." Their master smiled. "Hepta and Hex's defeat."

A person, apparently Hex, lowered his head.

"I'm sorry, master. I shall not fail again."

"Very well." The master replied. Then, to all, "Continue operations as ordered. We shall not let Hepta's demise slow us down. As long as we have his mana, everything can go as planned."

The others bowed, teleporting away.

Hex _attempted _to do so, but found himself stuck in the Cursed Sanctuary.

"Oh yes." The master smiled. "Hex."

Hex started sweating, asking, "May I leave, master?"

"May you leave? I, actually, rather not, not before you answer a few questions."

"Y…y…yes?" Hex stuttered. "I actually ne…need to heal my wounds. It's quite…"

"A while more." The master smiled.

"Tell me, how long have you stolen the ability to use all four classes?"

Hex's eyes widened. _He knew…_

"I…"

"When I was away, you managed to sneak in and steal the vial, didn't you? You then drank the contents, gaining all known common techniques from all four classes with that." He grinned again. "You have to pay for that. Power doesn't come without a price."

He then pulled out a dagger. A peculiar-looking dagger.

Hex recognized that dagger, from when he had done Darren Anderson. His eyes grew wide.

"Yes. This blade here will absorb the soul and mana from you. As a bonus, I even get Hepta's mana. Thanks."

Hex suddenly cried out, lashing at his master.

The person grinned, simply stabbing Hex in the heart. Hex fell immediately.

"You're expendable, Ordinatio Hex. It's just a matter of time." He smiled.

* * *

Captain Darwin led the chase, shouting throughout. The Initiates roared too, making sure the necromancers and Dark Archers knew their coming deaths. The other two Captains kept quiet, both lost in thought.

As they rushed, Eliza Tzu suddenly noticed that they were surrounded by thick walls. Instead of the ruins they were supposed to be, these walls were _new_…

"Run! Everyone! It's a trap!"

Suddenly, necromancers sprung out from _within_ the walls, the walls themselves disappearing. A few Wrath attacks cleared out majority of the Initiates.

A quick hand-to-hand combat ensured between the Fire Necromancer and Conrad West. However, with a quick Vulcan's Wrath, Captain West was cornered, where He of Fire executed Conrad.

The next to fall was Paul Darwin. The Poison Necromancer had used a peculiar technique to slow Paul down, before quickly striking him with his wand.

Eliza managed to get away, where she would be able to relay the bad news to the Council. Amazingly, the necromancers could not catch her.

The necromancers, having to spare Captain Tzu, shrugged, before teleporting away, smiles on their faces.

The bloodshed has just begun.

* * *

Okay, that WAS long. 3.3k words. Yeah.

Yep, things are starting to get exciting.

BTW, sorry this took so long. I promise the next one will be faster.


	12. Strike Back

Yeah, I'm back, and no, Prologue is NOT dead. That was to some people I know…

Okay, so no slack for me, even during the hols. I've started writing this _immediately_ after writing Showoff, Showdown. 0.o…slow writing speed, yeah? I actually write a lot, then slack off or get on with studies for a few days, _chiong_ writing, as Singaporeans call it, and stop again. So, yeah.

Alright, enough said, enjoy.

Also note that this will be a quick chapter. I don't have the time to carry on, with my CCA and examinations. So, last chapter for quite a while.

_

* * *

_

Two years later, Beracross HQ00

From outside, one would have guessed the tree was a result of countless years of growth. Few ever thought the huge tree, exactly in the middle of the forests of Ellinia, could be a building. Fewer know the tree is actually a man-made building, the headquarters of Beracross.

Go inside the building, through the hidden gates, and one will find a grand hallway, with two floors and a state-of-the-art portal. The first floor had a large clearing, perhaps for mass meetings, and a few rooms. One of these is the Council Hall, a conference room for the Council, eleven elite members of Beracross, one from each class, and the eleventh the Guildmaster. The Council Hall was also the occasional sites the Intel Division worked at.

The second floor held a winding corridor, with one huge gate leading to the CS, the Combat Simulator. As stated before, the CS allowed combat, and there will always be a Priest or two at hand to make sure no one is mortally injured.

Another door would have led to the ES, the Engineering Station. As the name implied, it is here the Clerics and Mages of Beracross create weapons to combat necromancers and murderers. Nearly every magician in the Council wields an ES-designed weapon, and the Bandits are issued a standardized _Cross_ dagger.

Then there is the skillbook library, which, despite its name, held more than skillbooks. It contains countless books on the history of Beracross, guides on training, and even literature from the witty minds of Beracross.

It was in the skillbook library that one would have found Kane Anderson then, reading through a particularly thick book. It was unusual for a Chief Bandit to learn such complicated techniques, but then again Chief Bandits rarely became the Captain of _Shadowsight_.

The book he was reading though was titled _The Hands-on Leader. _It wasn't the most interesting of titles or books; it wasn't even a skillbook, but it did give a certain something Kane was looking for: information.

Another thing to note was that Kane wouldn't have been in the library in the first place, but his mentor, Colonel Jason Rain, had ordered him to read up.

_One requires knowledge to be a good leader, _Jason had said. _Knowledge of yourself, your subordinates, and your enemies._

_Abstract crap, _Kane had thought to himself. Of course, he hadn't said that out. Jason would have punished him till he grew weary of life. Despite that, Kane had a deep sense of respect for his mentor, probably because there was no other father figure for him to look up to.

Kane briefly thought of Darren, his deceased father. Despite his being dead for two years, Kane never fully recovered from that incident. He could be cheerful at times, but even so, there would still be an emptiness in his heart. Darren was his only kin, now he was effectively an orphan.

Kane continued reading his book, trying to force thoughts of his father out of his mind. They only compounded his pain.

* * *

Amy Socrates looked around her. From what she could see, there was a door to her left, an opening to her right, another opening in front, and no chance the necromancer could have escaped from the back. Anyway, a full team of fellow Corporals were at the rear. If the target had escaped through there, there would be a lot of screaming. Either those of pain, horror, or delight at having completed the mission.

Amy decided to go for left. The necromancer could not be stupid enough to run into an open space.

Truth be told, confined spaces were a Ranger's nightmare. No distance between the target and the Ranger meant close-ranged combat, and even the best of Bowmen would not survive.

However, Amy strode on, trying not to think of the possibilities of combat while she was still in the tunnel she had walked into. Ranger's nightmare. Deathbed sounded more like it.

Amy was alert with every step, knowing the consequences of losing focus in such an important mission. It was how Captain-to-be Tobias Boon had ended up with a missing arm and failed mission. He was lucky not to have lost his life.

Amy walked through the dark tunnel, ending in a wide space. Perfect. Now let's hope the target is around.

Sure enough, a voice boomed across the room.

"So you've arrived, Amy."

_Cocky, over-confident attitude,_ Amy thought to herself. _Check_.

"I was wondering whether you would know which road to go to. You're smart, Amy. Either that or you're damn lucky."

There were two options. Continue the banter, or shoot and to hell with wit.

Amy chose the latter.

"Soul Arrow! Strafe!"

Four arrows, shining yellow, flew towards the necromancer. Or so it seemed.

As the necromancer teleported away, three of the arrows hit him. Apparently, Amy had foreseen her opponent's teleport, swinging her bow as she let fly the arrows. As a result, all four arrows sped to different locations. A trick she had learnt from years of being an Archer.

The necromancer fell for that, and gained a wound on his chest as a result. The necromancer was practically useless in combat for now. Being a novice Dark Mage, he had not yet learnt Rectify. Both hands would be used to stop his bleeding.

Amy placed a hand next to her bowstring, a shining arrow forming on the bow.

She pulled the arrow till the bowstring went taut, firing it with perfect aim.

The arrow flew, before _stopping in mid-air._

A _second_ necromancer had appeared between Amy and the wounded Dark Mage, blocking the arrow with his _palm_.

The new necromancer whispered, "Dark Will."

The arrow got _absorbed_ into a black mass on his palm, exiting forcefully and stopping in mid-air _once again_.

"Too late. Shining Ray."

A Priestess had blocked the arrow once again, casting a Shining Ray that blew away the two Dark Mages. However, despite the elemental advantage of Light over Dark, the attack did nothing more to stun them.

The Priestess then aimed what looked like a pistol, firing off a glowing blue round at the weaker necromancer. She then reloaded the pistol with a wave of her other hand, releasing a white substance which was absorbed into the barrel of the pistol.

She cocked the pistol at the last necromancer, firing without hesitation.

"Mission completed. Report back to the Council immediately."

"Thanks for saving my hide, Opal." Amy replied. "But at least have the decency to arrive earlier."

"Sorry." Opal smiled wryly. "That's how fast a mastered Teleport goes."

"So! You people were here. Downed the targets, I see. Efficient. The others didn't even have to do anything."

"Opal destroyed one of the eight Great Necromancers with minimal help, Captain Michaels."

Gordon Michaels groaned.

"You guys don't have to use my rank, Amy. It sounds weird. And by the way, the 'minimal help' just so happened to be myself. If truth be told, _she_ was the 'minimal help'."

"Enough, _Captain _Michaels." Opal grinned. "Don't go on."

Gordon winced, before replying in a matter-of-fact tone.

"I said, not my rank. By the way, if I were you, I'd be back at base than waiting to be ambushed in the Necrons Kerning HQ."

* * *

As one can tell, the many characters have changed much, went on with life, in two years.

Kane, through hard work and determination, became a Captain of _Shadowsight_, second only to Colonel Diablo. He has received leadership mentoring, or 'abstract crap' as Kane calls it, from Colonel Rain, who also hired the greatest Rogues to train him in the arts of the Chief Bandit.

David's hunt for the Rings never stopped. Throughout the two short years, he has amassed three of the eight rings, namely Light, Wind and Ice. Although he put the elemental and physical abilities the Rings gave to good use, he never rose above Corporal. No one else, not even Kane, ever knew about the Rings.

Amy was a loyal Beracrossian, despite the fact her brother Andre could never be found by the guild. She has completed countless missions, some in which she took on entire platoons of necromancers on her own. Ankou appears to have plans to have Amy take over as Captain when he retires, although it has not been stated.

Opal, despite her past failures, is now one of Beracross' greatest weapon designers. It was her who invented the _managun,_ which both Colonel Forte and Opal herself tested in the battlefield. It absorbs mana and shoots it at subsonic speed, as matter. Elements can be infused into the mana to make an elemental-themed bullet. Very useful.

Gordon, with some help from his Darkness abilities, became Beracross' best man for near-suicide missions, where Gordon would always return safely, without reinforcements. He has risen to Captain, where he is known to be more hands-on, preferring to aid than lead. After all, he is currently the youngest Captain in Beracross, and unsure of being a leader.

Ronox continues to stay on as part of Beracross' hired mercenaries, where he regularly pisses the Captains and Colonels off. The only Captain he has left alone is Gordon. It has been found that he has a slight problem with gaining experience levels, which is why everyone else he knew where in their third advancements while he was experience level 50. His mastery over the dagger itself makes up for that, though.

Jericho is a famed Corporal in Beracross for being able to wield Earth and Wind, as a Dragon Knight. This has resulted in him fusing magical techniques with melee techniques, creating the nickname 'Paladin of the Spear'. Although everyone is suspicious of how he is able to use magic-based techniques, no one ever questioned him.

* * *

Corporal David Falcon strode to the office of the Guildmaster. He walked confidently, walked quickly. One look told you that David was not someone to be trifled with.

David had changed from a cheerful teen to a quiet, yet fearsome fighter. No one knew what made him so, but seldom does one see him smile anymore, not even Kane, who was his longest friend.

The Corporal stopped at the door, knocking twice.

"Come in, whoever you are."

David opened the door to find a man in his fifties, hurriedly scribbling on some parchment.

David bowed, before closing the door and straightening.

"Greetings, Vereor."

The Guildmaster, Vereor, glanced upwards for a moment, before returning to his work.

"Corporal Falcon. Nice to meet you. What brings you here?"

David thought about what had brought him here. It was a serious decision. Was it the right choice? He had no doubt about it originally, but now…

"I'm waiting for the answer, David."

_Alright then._

David placed an envelope on the Guildmaster's table.

"I am here to tender my resignation from Beracross."

This time, Vereor looked up, and for once, surprise could be seen on the Hero of maximum experience level.

"Resign? Why?"

David was ready for this question.

"I've thought it over. You know about my powers. My ability to ruin or save entire cities. The power I have in my hands can do just that. I can't live knowing I can turn the tables in this war anytime. I don't want to fight knowing I'll take another's life for sure. It seems unfair."

"Life is this unfair, David." Vereor answered. "We need you, David. You said yourself you can save or ruin a city. We need that to topple necromancy. Surely you can live killing scum like Necrons?"

"I said before, I've thought it over. Pardon me for being rude, but you may argue with me on that matter all you want, I will never change my mind. Farewell, Vereor. May Lith bless you." With that parting line, David turned, opened the door, and strode off, slamming the door behind him.

At that exact moment, Colonel Forte ran past him, frown lines on his forehead, which was very unlike him.

'What's the matter, Colonel?"

Harrison Forte noticed David, and broke the news to him.

"Opal's disappeared. The culprit is most likely Necrons. At any rate, we should know soon." He then remembered David's resignation. David had only bothered to tell Colonel Forte about his plan to resign from Beracross, no one else.

"Put off your resignation for now. Your friend needs saving."

David started.

"But, Colonel, I can't. No more hurting. I had promised myself that."

The Colonel thought for a moment.

"Fine. You do not have to kill, maybe injure. Surely you can help track down a friend?"

David recognized his tone. Colonel Forte was pleading. Opal must mean a lot to _Divinelight_.

"Alright then. One last mission."

* * *

"Well, first of all, how'd this happen?"

Kane was shooting questions at Captain Michaels before he had sat down at the Council Hall. Around the table, David, Ronox, Jericho, and many others nodded.

"I…well, truth to tell, I don't know. It was this blue light, and she just…disappeared. Just like that." Gordon muttered.

"Yeah." Amy picked up from there. "I was there too. A good third of the Initiates were left dead. A few lost their minds."

"Does anyone feel this is familiar?" Jericho cut in. "Two years ago, Captain Paul Darwin led a team of Initiates, along with Captains Conrad West and Eliza Tzu. Two of the three Captains were found dead, and Captain Tzu came back a mental wreck."

At the mention of his sister, Colonel Zach Tzu stiffened. Till today, he had not forgiven himself for sending his only kin into battle.

"Alright." Colonel Rain continued. "The best course of action will be to send in Beracrossians with the Witness' Retaliation." He looked around. "I'm guessing the Eight Great Necromancers are not over yet, even with two down."

'You mean…they're back?" Kane questioned, eyebrow raised.

"I'm not too sure yet." Jason replied. "But, yeah, there's more suspicious stuff going around now. Some things to link this to Necrons and their necromancers."

"So…what's the plan?" Ronox nearly yawned out. He always had a profound dislike for waiting. "Rush in, bash the kidnappers, and get the Corporal back?"

Colonel Rain ignored the comment. "We'll send in a few teams. Team One will be led by Kane. You'll search for Opal in the Necrons El Nath HQ. Team Two, led by Corporal Falcon and Socrates, will search Necrons Perion HQ."

Necrons had various headquarters in different areas. Aquarium, Ludibrium, Orbis, Ellinia, Henesys, Lith Harbor, and most recently Kerning HQ have been razed to the ground, to put it violently. Necrons would be ending soon at this rate.

Back to the briefing.

"Is everyone clear?" The Colonel's voice rang in their ears.

"Yes, sir!" Everyone chorused. They left immediately, orderly, each to their own jobs.

Colonel Rain's eyes narrowed. Necrons' Great Necromancers were not finished yet, that he knew. He just knew.

* * *

A little shorter as compared to the others, but then again I won't be updating for quite a while. Examinations. Over in about 40 days, I'll guess. After that, I can continue writing.

BTW, I've been receiving complaints that Prologue is too confusing. Anyone with the same opinion?

EDIT: After using wordcount, I've just found out that Strike Back is the 4th longest document I've written. Longest is Showoff, Showdown, 3.5k words, next is Dragon's Dance, 3333 words EXACTLY, Dark Priest, 2.9k words. Yeah.


	13. One Man Show

Author's Note: DarnedNoob back, with a brand new chapter. Sorry for the extreme long delay; I had End-of-Year exams. It's all done now, though. YEAH.

Alright, the next chapter is here, and yes, Prologue is far from completed. Well, halfway there. Maybe slightly more.

* * *

"Is that the girl?" The man questioned the two necromancers. They had just bought back a bundle, which happened to be a 14-year-old Priestess all tied up and unconscious.

"Yes, master." One of them replied. "She is the Corporal. Opal Nightingale. As you ordered."

"Excellent. You two now have another job."

"Yes, sir?" The same necromancer questioned hesitantly.

"Make sure she does not escape. I feel sure Beracross will stage a rescue attempt. Repel them with absolute force. But leave the Colonels alive to escape."

"Yes, sir." The two necromancers bowed, leaving the mithril-reinforced room, closing the door.

The Master thought of his plan as the necromancers left to do their duty. So far, it has proved to work perfectly alright. Ordinatio Hepta was not the weakest, but he questioned his authority too much. He had to die. His death had the added effect of making the Beracrossians much more relaxed, _too _relaxed. Hex's death had been something unforeseen, but then rebels had to be put down. He was weak, anyway. His death did not mean much to the Necromancers' plans, not when he had Hepta's and Hex's elemental mana stored up safely.

Now, he just needed Opal as bait to destroy a few key figures. After that, he could continue with his other plans.

* * *

"Status report, Corporal Lawson." Colonel Forte said over the mike. Somewhere far away, in El Nath, Jericho replied, "Still searching, Colonel. Will report any out of place, not to worry."

"Glad to hear that." The Colonel muttered. "Just try to find the HQ. I'm sorry there isn't any coordinates, but time is of the essence here. We don't have time to send some scouts."

"Yes, sir. I understand."

"So, for now, just get the hell in and out ASAP. And find Opal too, if you can."

"Yes, sir."

Colonel Forte switched to David's radio channel.

"Anything, Corporal Falcon?"

"Perion's nearly deserted, sir." David's reply crackled through the communicator. "No sign of Necrons HQ. Seems like they've disappeared."

Harrison Forte frowned.

"Perion deserted? That has to be a first. Continue searching, Corporal."

"Yes, sir."

The Colonel frowned. Even the _HQs_ are difficult to find, much less Opal.

* * *

David had his crossbow out, ready to shoot. It was unlikely he would be ambushed in an open, barren land like what Perion had become, but it didn't pay to drop your guard. Who knew with necromancers? The last few could turn themselves invisible.

There was a scream behind him, along with a thud and a drop of scarlet red landing on David's shoulder.

David whirled around to find that the last of his team of Beracrossian Corporals had been killed with a gaping slash across his torso. He fitted four bolts to his crossbow, firing off a Strafe.

Beside the corpse, a novice Necrons Necromancer flew a few feet back, crashing into the floor with a loud thud.

David walked forward to the necromancer, jabbing a few thin bolts into his neck at various angles. These would keep him down, but merely unconscious. No more killing.

David looked around him. Everyone seemed dead. Looks like he was on his own.

He looked back at the communicator slung from his hip. If it was working, he could have called up Amy and as about her current situation, or he could have called Beracross HQ05, the nearest HQ, to provide reinforcements. As it was, he was on his own. The communicator had broken after a fight with a veteran Necromancer. Just his luck.

_No time to waste, _David reminded himself. _One last mission. Let it be quick._

David ran on, looking around his assigned area, or where he thought he was assigned to. Truth to tell, he was practically lost in this wasteland Perion had become. Multiple plateaus made scouting the area all the more difficult, even if what he was looking for was a huge building.

Suddenly, David felt a weird sensation, a little numbing, on his left fourth finger. He fitted a non-lethal bolt to his crossbow, firing behind him.

Nearly 300 meters away, on a different plateau, a Dark Sniper who had been aiming at David through his sights was thrown back by the force of a Light-infused bolt, from David's crossbow.

"Thanks, old friend." David whispered to a ring on his finger. The ring had a diamond encrusted in it. The Ring of Light. One of its abilities s that of being able to sense any body of Dark mana, namely Necromancers and their magical attacks.

_So, Necrons has found me. _David thought. A strategy occurred to him. He suddenly stood still, dead still. The numbing sensation started on his finger again. This would work.

An arrow with a purple hue flew towards David, which he simply shot down with his bolt.

The Dark Ranger who had fired the arrow made his presence known by standing up and hurriedly rushing away.

David tailed the Ranger, making sure to hide himself well. Turning circumstances to his advantage; a tactic that worked well. The plateaus that had hindered his search would now hide him well from the Ranger. If this Dark Ranger was sent from the Perion HQ, he could be tracked down, and hopefully be led to the HQ.

Half an hour proved enough for David to reach the HQ as hoped, where he saw the Ranger executed, possibly for failure of his assassination. David felt a twinge of guilt. He had hoped not to take any more life during this mission.

However, this also proved that the Necromancer that had just destroyed the Ranger in a single shot of mana had to be extremely powerful, and therefore to be avoided at all costs. It was even possible he was one of the Eight Necromancers, if Colonel Rain was correct about their return.

"And who have we here?" A voice cackled above David, who had been crouching behind a corner, watching the Necromancer.

David turned back, instinctively drawing his crossbow at the same time.

A pale face with nearly no facial features nor expressions stared him back in the eye, its forehead and neck covered with a black cloth. Under that face was a figure, totally clothed in black. The man held no weapon, but his hands radiated with mana. Darkness on his right hand, Light on his left.

David gasped. So it was true. The Eight Great Necromancers were back.

"Corporal David Falcon of Beracross FrozenArrow, I see…" The Light Necromancer, for that was what he was, grinned coldly. "Your name travels fast. A second jobber who killed a Crimson Balrog. Third job now, I see… All the more powerful you are now. Necrons need people like you. People to strike fear into the hearts of many."

David spat one word right into his face.

"Never."

"I thought as much." The Necromancer shrugged, as though he had simply asked him out for lunch. "That has to be a pity. Because now I'll have to kill you." With that, he swung his left fist into David's stomach.

David dodged the fist, backpedalling. He wondered how the Necromancer had avoided detection of his Ring of Light. It was simple actually; the Necromancer's secondary element was Light, negating the presence of its opposite element, Darkness.

A shout of "Apollo's Wrath!" quickly woke him from his thoughts to reality, and David jumped to one side of the corridor he found himself in to dodge the attack. What he had forgotten from the previous battle was that the light from Apollo's Wrath goes in every direction, including where he had dodged to.

The light slammed him against a wall, blinding him while breaking a rib or two.

The Light Necromancer grabbed him by the neck, raising him up.

"Necrons isn't the dishonorable guild you guys think we are." He stated, simply. "We just handle our enemies a little more…brutally. Hope you will understand our ways."

"You're…you're just a bunch of law breakers." David retorted. "What's so honorable about that?"

"Necrons help to further the ambitions of many. You may disapprove of our style, but it's just our methods." The Light Necromancer sighed. "You probably won't understand. Good bye then." With that, he slammed a glowing purple and yellow fist into David's face. "Knock-out. My game."

"Not so fast." David punched the Necromancer in the stomach, making him release his grip. He rolled right into the Necromancer, throwing a flurry of punches. As he was temporarily blind, he would have to do with melee combat.

The Necromancer simply elbowed him, standing up and giving David a good kick.

David grabbed his boot in one hand, drawing his crossbow and shooting where he thought his head would be. He didn't bother fitting non-lethal bolts; this time it would have to be shoot to kill.

The bolt struck something metallic, probably the ceiling. The next thing he knew, his crossbow had been punched from his hand.

"Don't try, young one." David could tell by his voice that he was grinning. In the Necromancer's eyes, the battle was already over. Not so though. He had a few tricks up his sleeve.

"Spirit of Apollo, Grant me thy strength!"

David's entire left hand started glowing, and two white crossbows materialized in his hands. At the same time, his bruises disappeared, and his cuts started closing up. His vision returned to him, and he _floated_ up, back on his feet.

David's next action was to have the Light Necromancer pinned up to the wall with a quick series of shots. The Light Necromancer disappeared, leaving a blue haze.

David swung a crossbow behind him and another in front to ensure all the sides were covered, firing at various angles. One bolt struck the Necromancer in the shoulder, revealing his position.

David aimed both crossbows at the Necromancer, firing Strafes at an unnatural speed.

The Necromancer waited at his position, and just as the bolts came flying towards him, he teleported ­_in front_, allowing the bolts to continue their flight _behind_ him.

"I know everything about your precious Rings." The Necromancer laughed. "Especially the fact that obtaining the Final Form like this will exhaust your mana. The most I have seen a person hold this form is 30 seconds, and even then he died immediately after, not merely exhausted. That was an Arch Mage. I wonder how you'll fare."

The Sniper did not bother with replies, instead shooting the Necromancer in the leg, and then firing another bolt at his head.

The Necromancer was prepared to dodge any headshots, but the shot in the leg was unexpected. He withdrew his foot a little too late, and a bit of Light mana jabbed into a blood vessel.

David knew what would happen next. As a Necromancer of both Light and Dark, there had to be more Dark than Light to effectively be a Necromancer. A greater amount of Light might reverse the effects of Necromancy, and even an occasional change of heart if he had been influenced psychologically by Darkness. The bolt he had shot contained an inordinately high amount of Light mana, hopefully enough. The resulting effect was that the amount of time he had left in Final Form was shortened.

Apparently though, the Light Necromancer had read his thoughts, figuratively speaking.

"So you guys might have experimented on our Novice Necromancers. If that's what you did, then their Darkness mana have not fully been absorbed, therefore it is easier for Light to take over their bodies. Sorry, kid." The Light Necromancer grinned once again. "You're amazing, David. No one has ever spent so much time in Final Form, especially after that attack. It's almost a pity you have to die."

"Just shut up and fall, will you?" David retorted, firing bolts once more.

"Well, actually maybe not." The Light Necromancer replied, eloquent as ever. He dodged the bolts with Teleport, before whispering a familiar phrase:

"Elemental Composition – Darkness and Light."

The technique struck David straight in the chest, throwing him forcefully onto a wall. The glow on his left hand faded, and the crossbows dropped from his hand, before fading to mist, dust and air.

The Light Necromancer laughed, appearing to aim a glowing white fist at him.

"Apollo's Wrath..."

* * *

"Quick. It's kinda cold here."

"Shut up. This was your idea."

"I didn't say to get ourselves in a snowstorm. You and your camouflages. I think my fingers are going to fall off."

"Well, keep them on Ronox, because you're going to need them." Jericho raised his spear at the entire battalion of Necromancers _gliding_ around. They hadn't seen past the snowstorm Jericho had created yet, but they would soon.

"Damn. If only Kane was around." Ronox peered past the Necromancers, hoping for a sign of salvation.

"Well, you should have stopped him from scouting, then."

"Just shut up."

Just then, one of the Necromancers saw Jericho, imposing as ever, Omega Spear in hand.

Jericho saw him too, and he sent a Razor flying at him. Having elemental mana other than Earth helped, as a Spearman.

The Necromancer was struck, and fell. However, Jericho had timed his attack, and shot another Razor into the ground in front of the battalion. The Necromancers couldn't see a Wind mana-based technique; they could only note that they were blinded by a sudden snowstorm. In these conditions, no one would notice a fallen Necromancer. Assassination complete.

"Alright, new plan." Jericho whispered to Ronox. "Get the others out. Search the area. I will handle these Necromancers."

Ronox raised an eyebrow. "You sure about this? I know you're a pro, but it doesn't take much brainpower to know these blokes can blast the average Captain, especially together."

"Trust me. I can handle them."

Jericho waited for Ronox to forward the orders, before shouting, "Break cover!"

Almost immediately, the Corporals ran off, led by Ronox. Jericho himself ran _at _the Necromancers, doing a Dragon Roar technique on the way.

The attack sent several Necromancers flying, and put the rest on alert. A Necromancer happened to fly past him, and a convenient stab to his neck commenced Jericho's one-man war on the battalion.

* * *

Kinda short, but I'm working on a new chapter ALREADY. I need a break after all the Maths anyway, so I actually might lay off the writing for another day or so. Lol.


	14. Flashback

DarnedNoob back, with another new chapter. After rereading Prologue, I've decided that I haven't developed the characters enough, so I present, Flashback.

* * *

"Elemental Composition – Darkness and Light."

The technique struck David straight in the chest, throwing him forcefully onto a wall. The glow on his left hand faded, and the crossbows dropped from his hand, before fading to mist, dust and air.

The Light Necromancer laughed, appearing to aim a glowing white fist at him.

"Apollo's Wrath..."

David saw all this, saw the magical attack forming in his fist, and knew that he didn't have much time left. He had been beaten.

Before the attack hit him, David thought back to the days he had in Beracross. Sure, he had only been there because of the Rings, but he had to admit he had met some people there who were…worth meeting…

_

* * *

_

One year previous, Necrons Orbis HQ.

From a bird's eye view, one could see two figures running across the dark corridors of the Necrons HQ. What their team failed to achieve a year ago, they would do so now.

David was scouting the area, eyes darting around. He was alert, ready for anything the Necromancers might throw at him.

Amy, however, shouted orders into her communicator. She knew she could trust David to spot trouble if any ever attacked them. However, she had a throwing knife in her right hand, and communicator in her left. She had taught herself the basics of using a Steely in case it was ever needed.

"Require satellite image of coordinates 55, 34 immediately. I repeat, require satellite image of coordinates 55, 34. And just send it to my communicator, Aziz. There isn't a copy? What…"

"Calm down…" David whispered to her. "My granddad could hear you, much less a necromancer. Keep your volume down."

Amy responded by slapping his shoulder while keeping her Steely out of range.

"Keep at your job, and I'll keep to mine." She whispered back harshly. "Anyway, Intel has affirmed that there isn't any Veteran or higher Necromancers in this section for now."

"Fine, fine. But we haven't got the next section yet…"

"…which is exactly…" Amy started.

"…why you're hollering at them, yeah?" David smiled.

"Oh, shut up."

"_Here, Corporal Socrates._" Captain Aziz's voiced crackled through the speakers of the communicator. "_And by the way, keep your bickering down. The entire of Intel can hear._"

"Be that way…" Amy muttered softly. Aziz shouldn't be able to pick that up on his communicator. She then quickly pressed a few buttons on her communicator, checking an apparently accurate rendition of Necrons Orbis HQ.

Indeed, the image was accurate. In fact, the cross-sectional view was so accurate that Amy could see a whole battalion of Necromancers that appeared to be heading their way, if still images could be trusted.

"Don't worry. They're all novice necromancers. No backup needed." David seemed to be able to read Amy's thoughts.

"You sure about that?"

"Hey, trust me and my crossbow. We'll be fine."

At that exact moment, a few dozen Necromancers rounded the corridor, facing our two heroes.

"Crap…"

_

* * *

_

Present, Necrons Perion HQ.

…Or perhaps he wasn't beaten yet. Something inside him seemed to awaken, to send him a message; his duty wasn't over yet. He had a job not yet done.

David raised a hand, grabbing the Light Necromancer's fist. The pure mana around the fist was burning his hand away, but it beat dying.

David bit his lip, trying not to think of the pain and his burning left hand. He raised his other hand to punch the necromancer away, clutching his nearly-gone left hand immediately afterwards.

The Light Necromancer withdrew, the glow in his hands gone.

Despite the pain, David smiled. "I have more tricks up my sleeve than you know." He drew a crossbow from behind him, loading a bolt and firing with one hand.

"Strafe!"

The four bolts struck the Light Necromancer, throwing him against a wall. Something broke audibly.

Not taking any chances, David _threw_ his crossbow at the Necromancer, whacking him in the forehead. It would have taken too long to reload, especially with one hand.

He then followed up with an elbow, and used his smoldering left hand to scald the Light Necromancer's face badly.

It was then that he noticed his Rings were still on, and the Ring of Light was glowing. Like before, it was numbing his hand to warn him of an incoming Dark attack. However, what was left of his hand wasn't enough to feel anything, so the numbing couldn't take place…

"Hurricane."

That single word was all David could hear before he was slammed against the wall by a sudden flurry of arrows striking his back. Each one of them had a purple glow. Infusion of Darkness mana.

David could have sworn the voice was digital. Whoever had blasted him must have wanted to hide his identity desperately.

"Such a pity. The great David Falcon dies in a single blow. Wait until I tell my Council."

This statement told David quite a few things. The person who had just crashed their fight was aware of his identity, and he headed an entire Council. Of what, he did not know.

"Then again, that single blow was a little strong. It's amazing how you're still alive and listening to me crap now. My necromancers were right about you."

So he headed Necrons.

"Beracross…we, Beracross will be…back." David managed to splutter out. "It's…not over."

"Ah well, it's a little too late for you." The mysterious person drew a dagger. The Light Necromancer, standing at the side, recognized it. The same dagger was used to kill Darren Anderson and many other tributes.

The person raised his dagger, bringing it down on David Falcon's heart.

_

* * *

_

One year previous, Necrons Orbis HQ

"So, any strategies now?" Amy asked irritably.

David rolled his eyes. "No, so help me think of one."

The duo were stuck in one of the best HQs of Necrons, without backup, and with a whole battalion of bloodthirsty necromancers up their behind.

"Well, first things first, I'll settle the novices. They're a distraction." Amy replied.

"You handle the novices. I take on the Veteran Necromancer." David stated, simply, before fitting a few bolts to his crossbow. He swung the crossbow, releasing bolts at different junctures. Each bolt struck a different necromancer, all in the chest. One of the four bolts held a little Light mana from his Ring of Light, causing immediate death to the poor necromancer who got the jackpot of a Light-infused bolt.

Amy didn't bother to answer affirmative, simply throwing her prepared Steely at a novice necromancer. The novice got knocked unconscious, before he was struck dead by stampeding necromancers. She kept her communicator, before stringing her bow and firing a few arrows nearly immediately. Years of practice will breed that kind of speed. Four necromancers were killed immediately.

David ducked to dodge the flying projectiles from the necromancers, firing bolts everywhere. An Iron Arrow ripped through two novices before ending its trip in the head of a Veteran Necromancer. Two down, two more to go.

David then stepped on a novice necromancer, using his head to bounce into the air, where he had a perfect bird's eye view, if only for a second. However, that second was enough for David to squeeze off a few shots, pinning another Veteran to the floor. The next shot he shot when he landed went into the Veteran's heart.

Throughout this, Amy was firing Strafes off with utmost ease, taking out those nearing her or David first. Nearly every shot killed a Necromancer.

Soon, the novices were all dead. That left a single Veteran Necromancer, who ran off from the two seemingly invincible Corporals. A single shot from Amy brought him down.

"Veterans? They weren't so hard after all."

"Amy, you're just nuts."

* * *

"Come on, you guys can do better than that!" Jericho shouted. "Come and hit me!"

Whether it was for their master's orders or Jericho's, the battalion tried all they could to beat the Dragon Knight down. They failed.

One novice managed to make contact with Jericho, but only to be swept away by an Omega Spear and sent flying back into the crowd. In the same fluid movement, Jericho sent a Razor flying straight in the middle of the battalion. A few Veteran Necromancers fell, along with every Novice in the middle.

The rest left standing could only gasp in awe. Razor was a Magician's technique; and even so, one needed to master the Wind element to properly use that technique. That Jericho, as a Dragon Knight, could release consecutive Razors was amazing.

Of course, the novices didn't manage to think all of that before they were struck by a few Razors.

The survivors spread out, knowing that magical techniques generally hit a small area hard.

Not so for Jericho.

"Dragon Roar!"

In their panic, the novice necromancers had forgotten that Jericho was a Dragon Knight, not some all-powerful Arch-Mage of the Wind and Earth.

As the technique sent the necromancers flying, Jericho felt a bit of himself fly off with the necromancers. Dragon Roar not just cost him his mana, it cost him a substantial amount of his health. If he did another such technique again, it would be the HQ00 clinic for him. He didn't have any Power Elixirs around him.

Fortunately, it didn't seem like any of the necromancers crawling around would be challenging him to a duel to the death anytime soon. Just in case, Jericho did a few Razors, carefully aimed to maximize the amount of Dark Mages hit. Five Razors were all it took. Nobody around here would be seeing daylight again. Jericho neither felt guilt nor joy. This was a job. The necromancers were worthless. They would be better off dead.

In any case, their demises would ensure that Necrons lost as much manpower as possible. Mass murder made legal.

Jericho turned around and walked away, the snow covering the fallen necromancers, keeping them hidden from the world forever.

However, one guy was still alive. Jericho quickly noticed that, reason being the guy was attempting to claw out of the snow.

Jericho strode back, spear in hand. He raised the spear, prepared to plunge it into the necromancer.

The novice Necromancer looked up with pleading eyes. "No. Please, I beg you. No…"

Jericho simply did a twirl with his Omega Spear, before beheading the chap.

Having done so, he returned to searching for Ronox, never feeling a slight twinge of guilt nor remorse. It was simply his job.

* * *

"Dude, so you're here." Ronox muttered to himself, having found Kane hiding behind a cliff. Observing what, he did not know.

"Should we signal to him?" An Initiate, probably looking for a promotion through making a smart decision, suggested.

"No." Ronox responded firmly. "He might be distracted. In fact, he will. We wait until he finishes doing what he's doing, and then we signal."

"Well, he's finished and looking as us hiding behind a cliff."

"Oh sh…"

* * *

About a minute later, Ronox was informing Kane of their past plight, and of how Jericho was handling the Necromancers now.

"Alright, so we search for Necrons El Nath HQ, ransack it for Opal, and job done." Ronox said.

"Not so simple." Kane replied. "Necrons El Nath is all white, from what I've heard. Given El Nath's perpetual snow, I think the HQ is well camouflaged. In other words, it's hard."

"Oh, it's not like we haven't been through the toughest. You should know that, Kane."

"Yeah, that's all you have to say, right?"

"Well, I might have found the HQ." Ronox smiled.

"You? Found the HQ? Bullshit isn't generally allowed in discussions of utmost importance."

Ronox ignored Kane's tone.

"I see that you were checking on the Necromancers there?" He pointed at the other side of the cliff.

"Yeah, so?"

"Well, they're walking _into _the cliff. Whoever you got the information that Necrons El Nath was simply white as a camouflage from, they suck."

* * *

Amy explored the HQ the team of Corporals found themselves in. Extreme luck had guided them to the Necrons Perion HQ, and they intended to make as much use of that luck as possible.

As thanks to the necromancers who had unknowingly led them to the HQ with their loud discussions, Amy decided not to blast at them. Not yet.

"Alright." Captain Gordon started. "_SwiftStrike, _follow me. The rest will be under Amy. Go!"

The team split into two, and dutifully searched the HQ.

Exactly five minutes later, Captain Gordon Michaels came back to the entrance of the HQ with two men. All three seemed pretty bloody.

"Dammit…" the Captain swore. He pulled out a communicator. "Requesting backup at coordinates 50, 98. Repeat, 50, 98."

He looked to the direction that Amy's team went.

"I do hope they're fine…"

* * *

Amy was doing fine. In fact, she had just found, and effectively neutralized, a battalion of Novice and Veteran Necromancers. Of course, that had cost a few Beracrossian personnel, but it couldn't be helped. This was war.

Soon, she had infiltrated the different rooms, passed the main corridor. Getting closer to the main office. Interrogating the in-charge would be one of the easier ways to find out about Opal's whereabouts.

So far, there hadn't been any more hostiles. Weird. Perhaps she had cleared out the entire HQ. With the other Corporals' help, of course. Teamwork is the key to success.

Then, as she passed a small office at one of the corridors, Amy swore she heard a _thud_, followed with a _hiss_.

Amy recognized the latter sound well. A long-distance teleport. A major, possibly one of the Great Eight, Necromancer was inside, and he had just escaped.

Amy broke through the door, and screamed at what she saw, before running forward.

"_David!_"

The Sniper was lying in the middle of the room, lying in a pool of blood. His own blood. A stab was clearly visible on his chest, just under his heart. Blood was pumping out of him, killing him.

Amy rushed forward to stop the bleeding, but by the amount lost, it was too late.

"_David, no…_" Amy whispered.

"Amy?" David was already blinded by the lack of oxygen going to his brain. He reached out, and Amy grabbed his hand.

"David, what happened?"

"Amy…get out…he might…come again…get out…" David muttered.

"Not without you!" Amy shouted.

"I'm done for." David stated simply. "The dagger that…did this. It was no…ordinary dagger. Its enchantment…I can't heal this wound…"

Amy looked around frantically, looking for a way to save her teammate.

"Amy…Promise me one thing." David said.

"Yes?" Tears were streaming out of Amy's eyes. She knew the wound was fatal. She already knew.

"Meet Colonel Forte. Tell him I…sent you." David's voice was growing thinner. "And…promise me you'll take care of yourself. Be well."

With that, David's hand fell out of Amy's.  
"David? David! _David! No!"_ Amy was frantic, still unable to accept what had…happened.

A few Corporals behind her were crying too. David had been a good teammate.

"So he's gone." A voice rang out from seemingly nowhere. "A pity."

A black cloaked figure stepped out of the shadows, a smirk on his pale face.

"It didn't take long for the Master to kill him. One strike. Quick and easy."

Amy's voice shook with rage. "You…you killed him."

"Well, yes, and probably you too." Came the reply, eloquent as ever.

Amy simply strung her bow and fired, the force of the offensive breaking her bowstring.

"_You'll pay!"_

"Dark Will!"

The arrow sped back at Amy, which she simply evaded by jumping into the air. The arrow _tore_ through the mithril plating of the wall behind her; such was the force of her arrow.

"_Strafe!_"

Amy had strung her bow again, and shot off four arrows.

The Light Necromancer, for that was who he was, Teleported away, before appearing behind Amy and unknowingly right smack in front of the team of Beracrossian Corporals at the entrance of the room. All readied their weapons, forming a circle to corner him.

The Light Necromancer smiled.

"You guys can't harm me. Such is the power of the Great Necromancers. Only those blessed, or should I say, cursed to have gained the Witness's Retaliation can even scratch me."

The whole team fired, slashed and stabbed at him, causing multiple wounds. Most of them were fatal on their own.

The Necromancer felt the pain, felt his life seeping away. His eyes widened in surprise.

"But…how…"

Amy stepped forward, eyes deadly. "David…he was murdered. Did you not absorb his…?" Amy nearly broke down at thinking that even David's soul wasn't at rest.

_Dammit…_The Light Necromancer thought to himself. _That idiot betrayed me…_

Well, he would have to do something about it.

"Rectify."

Nothing happened.

The Necromancer frowned in confusion, before swearing.

_The piece of shit actually absorbed my mana too…_

Before he could swear again, the Necromancer fell, brow still creased, still wondering why his Master had betrayed him.

* * *

Most of his plan was complete. The Master smiled at what he had accomplished. True, one of the Headquarters had been destroyed. A small price to pay for what he had earned. Corporal David Falcon was dead, along with other unimportant Corporals. Of course, this had cost him a Necromancer, but as long as his Light mana was still intact, everything was going according to plan.

The Master stared at his hand. Three rings shone on his fingers, their jewels sparkling. The Rings of Light, Ice and Wind. All his. Corporal Falcon was stupid to carry them with him at all times.

The Master sighed contentedly. Time for his next offensive.

* * *

Done. I know I was evil, but hey, deaths are a major part of the plot. It's a tragedy. Oh, and I know most of you guys won't do so, but try not to cry for David. And Amy. X)


End file.
